4®=-  Lenl  willingly,— it'  handled  carefully  and 
returned  duly,  with  the  corners  of  the  leaves  not 
turned  down. 


lEx  ICthrtB 


SEYMOUR  DURST 


When  you  leave,,  please  leave  this  book 

Because  it  has  been  said 
"Ever  thing  comes  t'  him  who  waits 

Except  a  loaned  book." 


Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Durst  Old  York  Library 


1 

Digitized  by 

the  Internet  Archive 

in  2013 

http://archive.org/details/newyorkitsinstit00rich_1 


]STEW  TOEK 

AND  ITS 

INSTITUTIONS 

1609-1873. 


THE  BRIGHT  SIDE  OF  NEW  YORK. 

A  LIBRARY  OF  INFORMATION, 

Pertaining  to  the  great  Metropolis,  past  and  present,  with  Historic  Sketches 
of  its  Churches,  Schools,  Public  Buildings,  Parks  and  Cemeteries 
of  its  Police,  Fire,  Health  and  Quarantine  Departments 
of  its  Prisons,  Hospitals,    Homes,  Asylums,  Dis- 
pensaries and  Morgue  and  all  Municipal 
and  private  Charitable  Institutions. 


BY    REV.   J.    F.  RICHMOND, 

(riVE  TEARS  CITY  MISSIONARY  IK  NEW  YORK.) 
JLLUSTRATED   WITH   UPWARDS  OF   200  ^NGRAYINGS. 


NEW  YORK: 

E.  B.  TREAT,  8  0  5  BROADWAY, 

A.  L.  BANCROFT  &  CO.,  SAN  FRANCISCO,  CAL. 
RANDALL  &  FISH,  DETROIT,  MICH. 
1  8  7  3. 
[Revised  Edition.] 


The  Present  Edition  (Seventh)  has  been  carefully  revised  and 
brought  down  to  the  present  time,  and  embodies  all  essential  correc- 
tions as  contained  in  the  late  reports  of  the  various  institutions. 

The  distinctive  features  of  this  work,  and  its  value  over  other  sim- 
ilar attempts,  are — that  it  is  not  a  Scrap  Book  of  Newspaper  Sketches 
and  Clippings ;  it  is  not  composed  of  Sights  and  Secrets  of  doubtful 
propriety  in  their  character  and  influence;  it  does  not  portray  in 
glaring  contrast  the  Sunshine  and  Shadow  of  the  good,  bad,  and  indif- 
ferent, or  the  Mysteries  and  Miseries,  which  are  brought  out  by  Day- 
light and  by  Gaslight,  by  various  authors  and  publishers — but  a  book 
of  solid  historic  facts  and  touching  incidents,  gathered  from  the  most 
reliable  and  trustworthy  sources  by  the  personal  efforts  of  the  author, 
and  as  such  it  bears  the  hearty  indorsement  of  our  best  authorities. 
[See  descriptive  circular.] 


The  Publisher. 


Septembek,  1873. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1871,  by 

ZE_  IB.  TREAT, 
in  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


r 

ns.3 


PREFACE. 


"  It  is  too  late  in  the  history  of  the  world,"  one  has  said,  "  for  an 
author  to  apologize  for  publishing  a  book hence  few  are  now  guilty 
of  such  affectation.  Nevertheless,  the  causes  that  led  to  a  produc- 
tion, the  manner  of  its  preparation,  and  the  object  sought  in  its 
publication,  are  often  matters  of  interest  and  profit  to  a  thoughtful 
reader.  The  volume  now  offered  to  the  public  is  not  the  result 
of  an  empty  desire  to  make  a  book,  but  to  furnish  in  a  concise  yet 
sufficiently  extended  form  for  ordinary  use  a  history  of  the  American 
metropolis,  with  the  origin,  objects,  growth,  and  present  condition  of 
its  numerous  institutions.  Many  excellent  works  bearing  on  this 
subject  have  been  issued  during  the  last  twenty  years  by  various 
publishers  and  authors,  and  by  the  separate  corporations,  varying 
in  size  from  the  large  quarto  to  the  thirty-cent  guide-book.  Some 
of  these  have  traced  minutely  the  early  history  of  the  island,  others 
have  sought  to  exhibit  New  York  as  it  is,  some  have  traced  the 
history  of  the  churches  or  of  a  single  institution,  and  one  has  traced 
the  career  of  most  of  the  societies  devoted  to  private  charities.  As 
no  one  of  them  has,  however,  attempted  to  cover  the  whole  subject, 
a  small  library  of  these  books  has  been  indispensable  to  one  wishing 
to  be  tolerably  conversant  with  the  history  of  New  York  and  its 
institutions. 

The  author  has  often  felt  the  need  of  a  comprehensive  volume, 
giving  information  in  relation  to  the  prisons,  dispensaries,  the 
municipal  institutions,  the  cemeteries,  hospitals,  schools,  the  parks, 
markets,  quarantine,  etc.,  etc.    While  informing  himself  on  these 


viii 


PREFACE. 


subjects,  he  was  induced  to  write  a  series  of  articles,  describing  the 
islands  in  New  York  harbor  and  many  of  the  institutions,  which 
were  published  in  one  of  the  monthlies  of  the  city.  The  brief  his- 
tories of  a  few  of  the  institutions  given  proved  highly  satisfactory 
to  some  of  the  managers,  and  at  their  suggestion  he  at  length 
decided  to  undertake  the  preparation  of  this  work. 

In  examining  the  several  institutions,  the  author  has  endeavored 
to  dismiss  all  denominational  prejudice,  and  present  honestly  the 
history  and  merits  of  each.  He  has  in  every  place  looked  for  some- 
thing commendable,  and  almost  invariably  found  it.  The  two  hun- 
dred institutions  of  New  York,  many  of  which  are  colossal  enter- 
prises, are  highly  creditable  to  the  humanity  and  benevolence  of  our 
people.  The  author  does  not  endorse  the  idea  so  often  advanced, 
that u  we  have  too  many  charitable  institutions"  nor  does  he  believe 
that  they  could  or  should  be  greatly  consolidated.  Institutions, 
Hke  armies,  may  be  too  large  for  successful  management.  Many  of 
ours  are  already  as  large  as  they  ever  should  be,  and  the  younger 
and  smaller  ones,  if  well  conducted,  are  certain  to  rapidly  increase 
in  magnitude.  "We  believe  every  denomination  should  provide  its 
homes  for  the  aged,  and  found  asylums  for  its  orphans.  "We  have 
contemplated  with  high  satisfaction  the  march  of  events  in  this 
direction. 

It  has  not  been  our  purpose  to  present  any  new  theory  for 
the  establishment  or  management  of  an  institution.  An  imperfect 
system  has  often  proved  eminently  successful  under  judicious 
administration,  while  the  most  perfect  has  repeatedly  failed  through 
mismanagement.  Hence,  abstract  discussions  of  theories  or  systems 
are  of  uncertain  value.  No  one  can  wade  through  many  hundred 
published  reports  of  the  institutions,  as  we  have  done,  without  being 
impressed  with  the  fact  that  in  the  minds  of  all  these  managers  there 
is  a  manifest  desire  for  progress  and  great  efficiency.  "While  the  his- 
tory of  our  institutions  discloses  the  fact  that  provision  is  made  for 
every  class  of  unfortunates,  and  that  the  benevolence  of  the  people 


PREFACE. 


ix 


is  rapidly  increasing,  it  exhibits,  also,  most  noticeably  the  recog- 
nized power  of  mind  and  of  moral  instrumentalities.  Brute  force 
no  longer  reigns.  Public  justice  is  no  longer  a  revenge,  but  an  ex- 
pedient for  the  safety  of  community,  and  the  reformation  of  the 
criminal.  Sixty  years  ago  truant  youth  were  hurled  into  a  prison, 
where,  under  the  tuition  of  mature  criminals,  they  soon  became 
hopelessly  corrupted.  Now,  in  a  Refuge  or  an  Asylum — a  school 
with  a  sanctuary — they  are  impressed  with  ideas  and  moral  motives, 
and  soon  rise  to  usefulness.  The  blind  and  the  deaf-mute  are 
educated,  asylums  rise  for  the  reformation  of  fallen  women  and  the 
inebriate,  while  the  halls  of  the  hospital  and  the  prison  resound 
with  the  ministrations  of  religion.  The  most  advanced  in  evil  are 
still  considered  within  the  reach,  and  susceptible  of,  moral  influence, 
and  for  whose  recovery  scores  are  willing  to  toil. 

For  much  valuable  information  in  the  preparation  of  this  work, 
the  author  cheerfully  acknowledges  his  obligation  to  "  A  Picture  of 
New  York  in  1848,"  "  Valentine's  History  of  New  York,"  Apple- 
tons'  u  American  Cyclopedia,"  the  (l  Gazetteer  of  the  State  of  New 
York,"  the  "  Manuals  of  the  Common  Council,"  the  "  Charities  of 
New  York,"  "  Half-Century  with  Juvenile  Delinquents,"  (( Public 
Education  in  the  City  of  New  York,"  c<  Watson's  Annals  of  New 
York,"  Miss  Booth's  "  History  of  the  City  of  New  York,"  and  to  the 
printed  reports  of  the  several  institutions  whose  histories  are  briefly 
presented.  Also  to  the  managers,  superintendents,  chaplains,  and 
physicians  of  the  institutions,  who,  with  a  few  exceptions,  have 
manifested  an  interest  in  his  undertaking,  and  promptly  furnished 
such  information  as  was  within  their  reach.  The  author  has  gath- 
ered his  statistics  from  the  most  reliable  sources,  and  trusts  they 
will  be  found  very  generally  correct.  Of  the  labor  and  difficulty  in 
preparing  a  work  of  this  kind  in  a  great  city  of  strangers,  where 
things  are  changing  with  kaleidoscopic  rapidity,  few  have  any  con- 
ception who  have  not  undertaken  it. 

Of  the  style,  he  has  only  to  say  that  he  has  labored  to  present 


X 


PEEFACE. 


the  largest  amount  of  matter  in  the  smallest  space ;  and  has  sought 
to  minister  to  the  understanding,  rather  than  the  imagination.  In 
tracing  the  early  history  of  the  island,  and  the  colonial  history,  he 
has  sought  to  select,  and  so  group  the  principal  events,  as  to  make 
them  readily  found,  and  easily  remembered.  He  has  not  sought  to 
unduly  encumber  the  volume  with  the  names  of  officers,  or  with 
unimportant  statistics.  It  has  been  his  aim  to  present  a  portable 
book,  richly  illustrated,  within  the  reach  of  all;  containing  all  the 
information  that  the  masses  care  to  read,  of  the  development  of  the 
city,  the  origin  and  work  of  its  institutions ;  in  fine,  a  comprehensive 
work  and  guide,  acceptable  alike  to  the  citizen  and  the  stranger. 
How  far  he  has  succeeded  he  leaves  for  others  to  judge. 

The  volume  has  been  prepared  amid  the  duties  of  a  laborious 
pastorate.  During  the  last  seven  years  he  has  visited,  as  occasion 
has  offered,  each  of  the  institutions  described,  and  to  many  of  them 
he  has  been  called  to  offer  consolation  to  the  suffering.  The 
reports,  statistics,  and  other  items,  have  been  thus  collected,  and 
any  missing  facts  supplied,  when  possible,  through  correspondence. 
The  chapters  have  mostly  been  written  nights,  after  conducting  an 
evening  service.  The  labor  of  its  preparation,  notwithstanding  the 
numberless  perplexities  such  an  undertaking  involves,  has  been  a 
pleasant  and  profitable  one — and  he  can  only  wish  the  reader  a  simi- 
lar experience  in  its  perusal.  Hoping  the  fruits  of  these  snatches 
of  time  and  toil  may  be  made  to  minister  in  some  degree  to  the 
intelligence  and  good  of  the  people,  we  send  this  volume  forth  on 
its  mission  to  the  world. 

J.  F.  RICHMOND. 

New  York,  September,  1813. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  L 

PACT 

Early  History  op  Manhattan   17 

The  Great  Metropolis   17 

Original  Settlers  of  Manhattan   19 

The  Advent  of  the  White  Man   21 

The  First  Grave   22 

Hudson  explores  the  River   23 

Founding  of  the  Dutch  Dynasty   25 

Peter  Minuits,  the  First  Governor   26 

Wouter  Van  Twiller   26 

William  Keift   27 

Peter  Stuyvesant,  the  Last  of  the  Dutch  Governors   28 

The  Surrender  of  the  Dutch  Dynasty   30 

Manners  and  Customs   32 

CHAPTER  H. 

English  Colonial  History   36 

Successful  Administration  of  Colonel  Nicols   36 

Recapture  of  Manhattan  by  the  Dutch   37 

The  Career  and  Tragic  End  of  Leisler,  the  People's  Choice.  39 

Captain  Kidd,  the  New  York  Pirate   46 

Rip  Van  Dam   52 

The  Trial  and  Triumph  of  Liberty   54 

The  Negro  Plot  of  1741   60 

Triumph  of  the  Anglo-Saxon   65 

Troublous  Times  Approaching   68 


CHAPTER  III. 


Important  Incidents  of  the  Revolution,  and  later  His- 
tory of  New  York  ,   72 


xii 


CONTENTS. 


FAGF 

New  York  Government  at  Sea   72 

Plot  to  Assassinate  Washington   73 

Shocking  Barbarity  of  English  Officers   74 

Hale  and  Andre,  the  Two  Spies   80 

Arnold  in  New  York   84 

British  Evacuation   89 

The  Burr  and  Hamilton  Tragedy  of  1804   90 

Robert  Fulton,  and  the  "  Clermont "   96 

Public  Improvements  of  1825.    98 

CHAPTER  IV. 

New  York  As  It  Is   101 

1.  Description  of  the  Island   101 

2.  Population  at  Different  Periods   103 

3.  Streets  and  Avenues  of  New  York   105 


The  Plan,  the  Pavements,  and  the  Modes  of  Travel. 

Wall  Street. 

Broad  Street. 

Broadway. 

Fifth  Avenue. 

The  Boulevard. 

4.  The  Architecture   114 

Hotels.    Astor  House,  Fifth  Avenue,  St.  Nicholas,  Grand 

Central. 
Cooper  Institute. 
Academy  of  Design. 
Theaters. 

The  Astor  Library. 
American  Bible  House. 
Publishing  Houses. 
The  Park  Bank. 
Life  Insurance  Buildings. 
The  City  Hall. 

The  New  York  Court  House. 
The  New  York  Post  Office. 

Stores.    Stewart's,  Claflin's,  Lord  &  Taylor's,  Tiffany's,  etc 

5.  Business  in  New  York   131 

Causes  of  Business  Failure. 
Business  in  Real  Estate. 
Classes  of  Rich  Men. 
Politicians. 


CONTENTS.  Xiii 

PASB 

Speculators  and  Stock  Gamblers. 
Success  of  Great  Men. 
6.  The  Churches  of  New  York   142 


Reformed  Dutch. 

Protestant  Episcopal. 

Lutheran, 

Presbyterian. 

Baptist 

Methodist 

Jews. 

Roman  Catholics. 

Other  Denominations  and  Missionary  Societies. 


7.  Parks  and  Squares   158 

8.  How  New  York  is  supplied  with  "Water   166 

9.  The  Schools  and  Colleges  of  New  York   169 

10.  Public  Security   180 


Metropolitan  Police  Department. 
Metropolitan  Fire  Department. 
The  Health  Department. 
Quarantine  Department. 
Maritime  Defences. 
•United  States  Navy  Yard. 

11.  New  York  in  Spring,  Summer,  Autumn,  and  Winter.  198 

12.  The  Libraries,  Monuments,  and  Markets  of  New  York.  206 

13.  The  Cemeteries  of  New  York   214 

The  Early  Cemeteries. 

New  York  Bay. 

Greenwood. 

Cypress  Hills. 

Evergreen. 

Calvary. 

Wood  Lawn. 

CHAPTER  V. 
Institutions  of  Manhattan  Island  and  Westchester  Co.  281 


Asylums   281 

1.  New  York  Institution  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  281 

2.  Institution  for  the  Improved  Instruction  of  the  Deaf 

and  Dumb  287 

3.  The  New  York  Institution  for  the  Blind   289 

4.  Bloomingdale  Asylum  for  the  Insane   294 

5.  The  New  York  Orphan  Asylum   299 


xiv 


CONTENTS. 


PAGK 

6.  The  Colored  Orphan  Asylum   302 

7.  Orphan  Home  and  Asylum  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 

Church  in  New  York   305 

8.  The  Sheltering  Arms   308 

9.  The  Roman  Catholic  Orphan  Asylum   312 

10.  New  York  Asylum  for  Lying-in  Women   315 

11.  New  York  Magdalen  Benevolent  Asylum   317 

12.  Society  for  Half-Orphan  and  Destitute  Children  321 

13.  The  Leake  and  Watts  Orphan  House   325 

14.  The  New  York  Juvenile  Asylum   328 

15.  The  House  of  Mercy  (Protestant  Episcopal)   333 

16.  Hebrew  Benevolent  and  Orphan  Asylum  Society....  336 

17.  House  of  the  Good  Shepherd   339 

18.  St.  Barnabas  House   341 

19.  The  Institution  of  Mercy  (Roman  Catholic)   344 

20.  Orphan  Asylum  of  St.  Vincent  De  Paul  347 

21.  Society  for  Destitute  Roman  Catholic  Children  349 

22.  New  York  Foundling  Asylum  (Roman  Catholic)   354 

23.  The  Shepherd's  Fold   356 

24.  Woman's  Aid  Society  and  Presbyterian  Home  for 

Training  Young  Girls   357 

25.  St.  Joseph's  Orphan  Asylum   359 

Hospitals  and  Infirmaries  360 

1.  The  Roosevelt  Hospital   360 

2.  The  Presbyterian  Hospital  364 

3.  St.  Luke's  Hospital   367 

4.  New  York  Hospital   371 

5.  The  Hospital  of  St.  Francis   374 

6.  St.  Vincent  Hospital   375 

7.  German  Hospital  and  Dispensary   379 

8.  Mount  Sinai  Hospital   382 

9.  Bellevue  Hospital   386 

10.  The  Nursery  and  Child's  Hospital   389 

11.  New  York  Eye  and  Ear  Infirmary   394 

12.  The  Woman's  Hospital  of  the  State  of  New  York. . .  399 

13.  Institution  for  the  Ruptured  and  Crippled   403 

14.  House  of  Rest  for  Consumptives   408 

15.  New  York  Infirmary  for  Women  and  Children   410 


CONTENTS.  XV 

FAGT8 

16.  New  York  Medical  College  and  Hospital  for  Women..  413 

17.  The  Hahnemann  Hospital   415 

18.  The  Stranger's  Hospital   417 

19.  The  New  York  Ophthalmic  Hospital   419 

20.  The  New  York  Aural  Institute   419 

21.  Manhattan  Eye  and  Ear  Hospital   421 

Homes  423 

1.  Association  for  the  Relief  of  Respectable  Aged  Indi- 

gent Females   423 

2.  Ladies'  Union  Aid  Society  of  the  M.  E.  Church  426 

3.  American  Female  Guardian  Society  and  Home  for  the 

Friendless   430 

4.  The  Home  for  Incurables  434 

5.  Samaritan  Home  for  the  Aged   436 

6.  The  Colored  Home   439 

7.  The  St.  Luke's  Home   442 

8.  The  Presbyterian  Home  446 

9.  Union  Home  and  School  for  Children  of  our  Volunteer 

Soldiers  and  Sailors   449 

10.  The  Female  Christian  Home   452 

11.  The  Home  for  Friendless  Women   453 

12.  Women's  Prison  Association  of  New  York  (The  L  T. 

Hopper  Home)   457 

13.  Roman  Catholic  Home  for  the  Aged   461 

14.  Chapin  Home  for  the  Aged  and  Infirm   462 

15.  Baptist  Home  for  the  Aged   463 

16.  Home  for  Aged  Hebrews   464 

17.  Ladies'  Christian  Union,  or  Young  Woman's  Home. .  467 

18.  Hotel  for  Working  Women  (A.  T.  Stewart's)  470 

19.  The  Water  Street  Home  for  Women   471 

Missions,  Industrial  Schools,  and  Miscellaneous  Societies  477 

1.  The  Five  Points  Mission   477 

2.  The  Five  Points  House  of  Industry  483 

3.  Woman's  Boarding  House   486 

4.  The  Howard  Mission  and  Home  for  Little  Wanderers.  488 

5.  The  Midnight  Mission   492 

6.  Wilson's  Industrial  School  484 

7.  The  New  York  House  and  School  of  Industry   497 


xvi 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

8.  The  Children's  Aid  Society   499 

9.  Society  for  the  Employment  and  Relief  of  Poor  Women.  504 

10.  New  York  Association  for  Improving  the  Condition  of 

the  Poor   505 

11.  Young  Men's  Christian  Association   508 

12.  New  York  Prison  Association   511 

Prisons  and  Dispensaries   514 

1.  The  City  Prisons   514 

2.  The  New  York  Medical  Dispensaries  519 

CHAPTEE  VI. 

Institutions  of  Blackwell's  Island   523 

1.  The  Islands  and  the  Authorities   523 

2.  The  Hospitals  of  Blackwell's  Island   527 

3.  The  New  York  Penitentiary   531 

4.  The  New  York  Almshouse   536 

5.  The  New  York  Workhouse   541 

6.  The  New  York  Lunatic  Asylum   545 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Institutions  of  Ward's  Island   551 

1.  The  Buildings  of  the  Commissioners  of  Emigration. ..  551 

2.  The  New  York  Inebriate  Asylum   557 

CHAPTER  Till. 
Institutions  of  Randall's  Island  x.  562 

1.  The  New  York  Nurseries   562 

(  Buildings  for  the  Healthy  Children. 

<  Infant  Hospital. 

( Idiot  School  and  Asylum. 

2.  Society  for  the  Reformation  of  Juvenile  Delinquents  568 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Institutions  on  Hart  Island   572 

The  Industrial  School,  and  the  School-Ship  "Mercury"..  672 

CHAPTER  X. 
New  York  Institutions  on  Staten  Island  578 

1.  Sailors'  Snug  Harbor   578 

2.  Seamen's  Fund  and  Retreat   682 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
EARLY  HISTORY  OF  MANHATTAN. 

THE   GREAT  METROPOLIS  ORIGINAL  INHABITANTS   OF   MANHATTAN — ■ 

THE    ADVENT   OF  THE   WHITE   MAN  THE    FIRST   GRAVE — HUDSON 

EXPLORES  THE  RIVER  FOUNDING  OF  THE  DUTCH  DYNASTY  PETER 

MINUITS,  THE  FIRST   GOVERNOR  WOUTER  VAN  TWILLER  WILLIAM 

KEIFT  PETER  STUYVESANT,  THE  LAST  OF  THE  DUTCH  GOVER- 
NORS THE  SURRENDER   OF  THE   DUTCH  DYNASTY  MANNERS  AND 

CUSTOMS. 

THE  GREAT  METROPOLIS. 


EW  YORK  is  the  most  populous,, 
wealthy,  and  splendid  dty  on  the 
American  continent.   Its  location,  cli- 
mate, surroundings,  and  connections  have  all 
been  favorable  to  its  growth  and  greatness. 
It  stands  on  the  little  island  called  by  the 
Indians  Manhattan,  but  Brooklyn,  Williams- 
burgh,  Greene  Point,  Jersey  City,  Hoboken,  Yon- 
:ers,and  Tarry  town,  are  but  its  suburbs,  containing 
the  residences  of  its  laborers,  clerks,  and  merchant 
princes.    Among  the  earliest  localities  to  feel  the 
tread  of  the  European  stranger,  it  has  through  all 
its  history  been  deservedly  popular  as  a  landing  depot,  and 
now  receives  fully  five-sevenths  of  all  entering  the  country.. 
About  five  thousand  vessels  annually  enter  its  bay,  which  is  suf - 
2 


18 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


ficiently  broad  and  deep  to  anchor  the  collected  navies  of  the 
world.  Its  imports  and  exports  are  more  than  fifty  per  cent 
of  the  whole  United  States,  and  amount  to  five  hundred  mil- 
lion dollars  per  annum ;  while  the  aggregate  trade  of  the  city 
reaches  nearly  four  thousand  millions.  Nearly  three  hundred 
railroad  trains  make  daily  communication  with  its  suburbs. 
The  taxable  property  of  the  island  reported  at  less  than  half 
its  value  reaches  nearly  a  thousand  millions,  and  the  annual 
tax  about  twenty-five  millions.  New  York  is  the  great  store- 
house of  the  nation's  wealth,  the  centre  of  its  financial  oper- 
ations, and  of  its  political,  industrial,  economic,  scientific, 
educational,  benevolent,  and  religious  enterprises.  New  York 
furnishes  most  of  the  newspapers,  periodicals,  books,  pictures, 
models  of  statuary,  architecture,  machinery,  and  handicraft, 
for  the  numerous  great  States  clustered  around  it,  and  for 
the  broad  Canadas.  There  is  poverty  in  New  York,  deep  and 
squalid ;  but  it  is  offset  by  wealth,  countless  and  dazzling. 
There  is  ignorance  here,  profound  and  astonishing ;  but  there 
is  learning  also,  brilliant  and  extensive  as  can  be  found  on 
the  globe.  There  are  sinners  in  New  York,  black  and  guilty, 
as  ever  disgraced  the  world  ;  but  there  are  saints  also,  spot- 
less and  benevolent,  as  ever  adorned  the  Church  of  God. 
All  extremes  meet  in  this  great  metropolis.  Here  are  the 
denizens  of  every  land,  the  babblings  of  every  tongue,  the 
productions  of  every  clime,  the  inventions  of  every  craft,  and 
the  ripened  fruit  of  every  desire.  At  a  single  glance  can  be 
seen,  as  in  a  vast  mirror,  pictures  of  age  and  infancy,  beauty 
and  deformity,  industry  and  indolence,  wealth  and  beggary, 
vice  and  sanctity. 

New  York,  with  its  immense  libraries,  art  galleries,  daily 
press,  literary  associations  and  lectures,  its  benevolent  institu- 
tions, and  architectural  wonders,  is  one  of  the  richest  fields  of 
human  culture  in  the  known  world.  There  is  on  every  hand 
something  to  interest,  please,  and  profit  everybody,  of  what- 
ever country,  talent,  or  temperament.  It  is  a  luxury  to  tarry 
in  New  York,  though  it  be  but  for  a  month,  a  week,  or  a  day, 


ORIGINAL  INHABITANTS  OF  MANHATTAN. 


19 


to  listen  to  the  rumble  of  its  wheels,  the  whistle  of  its  en- 
gines, the  clicking  of  its  telegraphs,  the  voice  of  its  orators, 
the  chime  of  its  bells,  the  strains  of  its  music,  and  the  roar 
of  its  artillery.  Whose  mind  is  not  enlarged  as  he  contem- 
plates the  progress  of  its  growth,  the  rush  of  its  improve- 
ments, and  the  majestic  sweep  of  its  commerce?  Who  can 
stand  upon  its  elevated  observatories  and  closely  contemplate 
its  leagues  of  solid  masonry,  everywhere  thronged  with  im- 
mortals as  important  and  hopeful  as  himself,  without  such 
emotions  as  he  never  experienced  before?  Who  can  press 
through  the  whirl  of  its  daily  activities,  without  thinking  of 
eternity  ;  through  its  neglected  sinks,  without  thinking  of 
pandemonium ;  or  its  cultivated  parks,  without  thinking  of 
paradise  ?  All  do  not  live  in  New  York,  nor  can  they ;  yet 
every  thoughtful  American  should  visit  it,  snuff  its  ocean 
breezes,  contemplate  its  massive  piles,  peep  into  its  institu- 
tions, and  gather  inspiration  from  the  rush  of  its  activities. 
For  any  who  wish  to  visit  it,  or  who  do  not,  this  book  has 
been  written.  To  obtain  a  correct  and  adequate  knowledge 
of  New  York,  let  us  begin  at  the  foundation. 


ORIGINAL  INHABITANTS  OF  MANHATTAN. 


OE  many  ages  Manhattan  lay  buried 
in  these  western  solitudes,  separated 
by  a  wide  and  stormy  ocean  from  all 
the  bustling  activities  of  the  civilized 
world.  During  a  long  period  it  is 
now  known  to  have  been  the  favorite 
resort  of  the  Indians  of  the  Hudson 
river  country  who  gathered  here  in 
vast  numbers,  built  their  rustic  vil- 


lages, and  spent  the  summer  months  in  fishing,  baking  clams, 
and  hunting.    Centuries  before  civilization  found  its  way  to 


20 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


these  shores,  the  broad  bay  now  whitened  with  the  sails  of  a 
hundred  nations  was  dotted  with  the  canoes  of  an  ingenious 
race,  whose  history  is  now  too  nearly  obliterated.  Their  lands 
they  owned  in  common,  the  only  divisions  being  between  the 
different  tribes.  Their  habitations  were  constructed  of  sap- 
lings and  bark,  with  no  windows,  floors,  or  chimneys.  Their 
villages  were  located  on  spots  of  ground  naturally  clear  of 
wood,  and  contained  from  twenty  to  several  hundred  fam- 
ilies, which  in  time  of  war  they  surrounded  with  a  fence  or 
stockade.  To  agriculture  they  gave  no  attention,  save  the 
planting  of  Indian  corn,  beans,  peas,  and  pumpkins.  Both 
sexes  were  exceedingly  fond  of  display  in  dress,  illustrating 
the  old  saying,  that  "  man  in  robes  or  in  rags  is  a  proud 
little  animal."  The  Indian  women  wore  long,  black  hair, 
plaited  and  rolled  up  behind,  where  it  was  fastened  with  a 
band.  Their  petticoats  were  ornamented  with  exquisite  taste 
and  skill,  and  would  bring  a  fine  sum  in  our  day.  This  gar- 
ment hung  from  a  belt  or  waist-girdle  made  of  dressed  deer- 
skin, highly  ornamented  with  Indian  money  called  sewant. 
Pendants  hung  upon  their  foreheads,  necks,  and  arms,  and 
handsomely  trimmed  moccasins  adorned  their  feet. 

The  men  were  no  less  attentive  to  dress.  Upon  their 
shoulders  they  hung  a  mantle  of  deer-skin,  with  the  fur  next 
their  bodies,  while  the  outside  of  the  garment  displayed  a  va- 
riety of  designs  in  paint.  The  edges  of  the  mantle  were 
trimmed  with  swinging  points  of  fine  workmanship.  Their 
heads*  were  variously  ornamented  ;  some  wearing  feathers, 
and  others  different  articles  of  a  showy  character.  Their 
necks  and  arms  displayed  ornaments  of  elaborate  workman- 
ship. They  painted  themselves  in  a  variety  of  colors  accord- 
ing to  their  peculiar  tastes,  rendering  their  appearance  gro- 
tesque and  frightful.  They  were  tall  and  slender,  had  black 
or  brown  eyes,  snow-white  teeth,  a  cinnamon  complexion,  and 
were  fleet  and  sprightly.  They  had  no  care  but  to  provide 
for  present  subsistence  and  secure  pleasure.  They  were  very 
superstitious,  believing  in  dreams,  signs,  and  various  omens. 


THE  ADVENT  OF  THE  WHITE  MAN. 


21 


They  had  crude  notions  of  the  Great  Spirit  and  the  Spirit 
Land.  When  one  died  they  placed  his  body  in  a  grave  in  a 
sitting  posture,  shielding  it  from  contact  with  the  earth  by  a 
covering  of  boughs,  and  from  the  wild  beasts  by  a  burden  of 
stone  and  earth.  By  his  side  in  the  grave  was  also  placed  his 
implements  of  war  and  pleasure,  some  money  and  food  to 
serve  him  on  his  journey  to  the  Spirit  Land.  The  science  of 
war  was  his  greatest  accomplishment,  and  to  die  without  any 
display  of  weakness  or  fear,  his  highest  virtue.  Oratory  was 
considerably  cultivated  among  them.  When  first  discovered 
their  mariners  and  habits  contrasted  so  strangely  with  every- 
thing in  Europe,  that  they  were  supposed  to  possess  few,  if  in- 
deed any,  of  the  affections  and  higher  emotions  of  humanity, 
but  to  be  more  closely  allied  to  the  lower  orders  of  creation. 
Time  has,  however,  shown  their  native  regard  for  integrity  and 
honor,  and  under  the  appliances  of  mental  and  moral  culture, 
the  Indian  head  and  heart  have  proved  capable  of  high  at- 
tainments. 


THE  ADVENT  OF  THE  WHITE  MAN. 


gfHE  wants  of  the  race  had  fairly  out- 
gj  grown  the  capacities  of  the  East,  An 
accession  of  new  ideas  was  demanded; 
human  liberty  could  not  be  realized 
amid  the  crushing  despotisms  of  the  Old  World, 
and  benevolence,  the  divinest  grace  of  the  soul, 
languished  for  want  of  a  broader  theatre  on 
which  to  work  out  and  exhibit  its  sublime  de- 
velopments. Divine  Providence  opened  the 
gates  to  this  western  world.  Varrazzani,  a 
Florentine  in  the  employ  of  the  French  Govern- 
ment in  the  sixteenth  century  (1525),  is  believed  to  have  been 
the  first  white  man  who  sailed  through  the  Narrows,  and 
looked  upon  the  placid  waters  of  the  New  York  bay  and  its 
green  islands.    In  1609  Henry  Hudson,  an  intrepid  English 


22 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


navigator  in  the  employ  of  the  Dutch  East  India  Company, 
sailed  from  Europe  in  search  of  a  northwest  passage  to  the 
East  Indies.  The  vessel  in  which  he  sailed  was  a  yacht, 
called  the  "  Half  Moon,"  of  about  eighty  tons  burthen,  and 
would  be  considered  a  very  diminutive  thing  for  an  explorer 
in  our  day,  when  canal  boats  carry  three  hundred  and  fifty 
tons.  His  crew  consisted  of  fifteen  or  twenty  sailors,  partly 
of  Dutch  and  partly  of  English  birth.  He  traversed  the 
American  coast  from  Newfoundland  to  the  Chesapeake  bay, 
and  then  turned  again  northward  to  explore  more  carefully 
the  country  thus  passed.  On  the  2d  of  September  he  rounded 
Sandy  Hook,  and  on  the  4th  he  anchored  near  the  Jersey 
shore  in  the  south  bay.  As  the  waters  swarmed  with  fish,  a 
boat  was  lowered  to  catch  some,  and  the  crew  is  believed  to 
have  landed  on  the  foam-fringed  beach  of  Coney  Island,  and 
to  have  been  the  first  white  men  who  ever  set  foot  on  the  soil 
of  the  Empire  State. 

It  is  not  wonderful  that  Hudson  forgot  his  mission,  and  be- 
came enchanted  with  the  gorgeous  scenery  everywhere  spread 
out  before  him.  Majestic  forests,  that  had  slumbered  on 
through  the  solitudes  of  the  ages,  waved  on  the  shores;  the 
little  hills  were  crowned  with  grass  and  a  variety  of  fragrant 
flowers ;  the  waters  swarmed  with  finny  tribes,  while  birds  of 
strange  plumage  and  song  flitted  through  the  air.  A  hither- 
to unknown  race,  with  strange  manners  and  showy  trappings, 
came  to  his  ship  in  their  canoes  with  corn  and  other  vegeta- 
bles, for  which  they  received  from  the  generous  commodore 
axes  and  shoes,  which  they  hung  about  their  necks  for  orna- 
ments. 

THE  FIRST  GRAVE. 

Hudson  continued  at  his  anchorage  about  a  week,  and  on 
the  6th  of  the  month  dispatched  a  boat  to  explore  the  harbor. 
The  little  crew  passed  through  the  Narrows  and  took  a  view 
of  the  green  hills  of  Manhattan,  after  which  it  sailed  out  to- 
ward Newark  bay.    On  their  return  an  unfortunate  collision 


HUDSON  EXPLORES  THE  RIVER. 


23 


occurred  between  the  party  and  the  natives,  and  an  English 
sailor  named  John  Coleman  was  struck  in  the  neck  by  an  ar- 
row and  killed.  Two  others  were  wounded.  Coleman  had 
long  been  associated  with  Hudson  on  the  seas,  and  his  death 
was  greatly  regretted.  It  is  probable  that  the  sailors  were 
the  first  aggressors.  A  grave  was  dug  on  Sandy  Hook,  and 
on  the  9th  of  September  he  was  mournfully  interred,  and 
the  spot  has  since  been  known  as  Coleman's  Point. 

HUDSON  EXPLORES  THE  RIVER. 

On  the  11th  of  September  Hudson  sailed  through  the  Nar- 
rows, and  after  anchoring  one  day  in  the  New  York  bay  pro- 
ceeded up  the  river  to  the  present  site  of  Albany,  hoping  to 
find  the  long-sought  passage  to  the  East  Indies.  Unwilling 
to  believe  he  had  reached  the  head  of  navigation,  he  de- 
spatched a  party  to  sound  the  river  higher  up.  They  pro- 
ceeded eight  or  nine  leagues,  and  finding  but  seven  feet  of 
water  they  returned  with  the  unwelcome  intelligence.  The 
voyage  up  the  river,  though  a  disappointment,  was  a  pleasant 
excursion.  The  rocky  Palisades,  lofty  Highlands,  and  the 
majestic  curves  of  the  sweeping  silver  current,  appear  to  have 
lingered  long  in  the  minds  of  these  bold  adventurers.  The 
natives  gave  them  a  friendly  reception,  spreading  before  them 
the  best  the  country  afforded. 

The  country  was  indeed  rich.  Hudson  declared  that  in 
one  Indian  village  he  saw  a  quantity  of  corn  and  beans  suf- 
ficient to  fill  three  ships,  and  that  the  neighboring  fields  were 
burdened  with  luxuriant  crops. 

Two  unfortunate  occurrences  in  this  voyage  tarnish  the 
character  of  Hudson  and  his  crew.  They  communicated  to 
the  red  man  the  fatal,  intoxicating  bowl.  Sailors  must  always 
have  a  revel  while  on  shore,  and  one  occurred  during  their 
stay  at  Albany — the  first  on  the  banks  of  that  beautiful 
river.  Secondly,  he  had  rudely  captured  while  at  Sandy 
Hook  two  natives,  whom  he  designed  to  carry  with  him  to 
Holland.    Both  escaped  on  his  passage  up  the  river,  or  at 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


their  drunken  carousal,  and  with  manly  courage  collected 
their  forces  to  resent  this  breach  of  faith  on  his  return.  A 
fleet  of  well-filled  canoes  at  Spuyten  Duyvil  attacked  and  at- 
tempted to  board  the  vessel.  A  musket  shot  from  the  ship 
killed  one  native  and  scattered  the  rest.  Opposite  Washing- 
ton Heights  the  attack  was  renewed  as  the  vessel  floated  down 


THE 


HALF  MOON"  AS0KND1NO  HUDSON  BIVBR. 


the  stream.  Another  volley  of  musketry  stretched  nine  more 
in  the  cold  embrace  of  death,  after  winch  fcey desuted 
The  thunder  of  the  white  man's  weapon,  and  the  deadly 
plunge  of  his  missile,  was  more  than  they  could  unders tend 
A  little  caution  and  moderation  would  have  saved  these  stems 
^  that  otherwise  brilliant  record  of  ^^^J^ 
tor  On  the  4th  of  <  >ctoher  Hudson  set  sail  for  Holland,  to 
make  known  the  facts  of  his  wonderful  discovery. 


FOUNDING  OF  THE  DUTCH  DYNASTY. 


25 


FOUNDING  OF  THE  DUTCH  DYNASTY. 

'UDSON  had  scarcely  made  known  the 
5S||  results  of  his  voyage  in  Holland,  ere 
KM  trading  vessels  were  fitted  out  by  the 
enterprising  merchants,  and  despatched  to 
these  shores  to  reap  the  golden  harvest  held 
out  in  the  valuable  fur  trade.  These  experi- 
ments were  highly  successful,  and  agents 
were  stationed  here  to  continue  the  business 
during  the  absence  of  the  ships.  These  agents  established 
their  headquarters  on  the  southern  point  of  Manhattan  Island. 
The  "  United  New  Netherland  Company,"  composed  of  a 
number  of  merchants,  was  chartered  in  1614,  for  a  brief 
period,  and  in  1621  the  "  West  India  Company,''  larger  and 
richer  than  the  former,  was  permanently  incorporated.  This 
great  company  was  invested  with  nearly  all  the  prerogatives 
of  a  general  government.  They  were  allowed  to  appoint 
their  own  governors,  settle  the  ends  and  forms  of  administra- 
tive justice,  make  treaties,  enact  laws,  and  were  granted  the 
exclusive  control  of  trade  on  the  whole  American  coast.  In 
1623  a  stanch  vessel  (the  "  New  Netherland,"  which  continued 
her  trips  regularly  for  more  than  thirty  years)  brought  over 
thirty  families  to  begin  a  colony  These  were  landed  at  Al- 
bany, and  a  settlement  began.  Two  years  later  (1625)  another 
company  came  over  in  two  ships,  bringing  horses,  cattle, 
sheep,  swine,  agricultural  implements,  and  seed  grain,  and  be- 
gan a  settlement  on  Manhattan.  The  first  fort  was  erected  in 
1615  by  the  traders,  and  stood  in  the  rear  of  the  present  Trinity 
church,  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  the  tides  then  reaching 
where  the  western  wall  of  the  churchyard  now  stands.  In 
1751  some  workmen  digging  in  the  bank  in  the  rear  of  the 
church,  discovered  a  stone  wall  which  was  afterwards  ascer- 
tained to  be  the  remains  of  the  long-forgotten  fort.  In  1623 
a  new  fort,  a  block-house,  was  constructed  a  little  south  of 


26 


NEW  YOKK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


what  is  now  the  Bowling  Green,  which  served  the  matter  of 
defence  for  ten  years. 

PETER  MINUITS,   THE  FIRST  GOVERNOR. 

The  affairs  of  the  colony  having  become  sufficiently  impor- 
tant to  require  the  presence  of  a  director-general,  Peter 
Minuits,  of  Westphalia,  was  appointed  in  1624,  and  immedi- 
ately assumed  the  reins  of  government.  To  conciliate  the 
Indians  he  purchased  the  entire  island  of  Manhattan  for 
twenty-four  dollars.  The  Governor  established  his  residence 
in  the  block-house,  around  which  he  erected  strong  palisades 
The  imports  into  the  colony  in  1624  amounted  to  $10,654, 
and  the  exports,  wholly  of  skins  and  furs,  amounted  to  $11,000 
In  1631,  the  last  year  of  his  administration,  the  imports  wen. 
$23,000,  and  the  exports  $27,204.  During  the  administra- 
tion of  Minuits  the  rival  claims  to  territory  between  the 
English  and  the  Dutch  were  started,  but  no  adjustment  was 
reached.  Minuits,  having  been  recalled  by  the  company,  v^as 
in  April,  1633,  succeeded  by 

WOUTER  VAN  TWILLER. 

Yan  Twiller  was  a  relative  of  Mr.  Yan  Rensselj.t  r,  one  of 
the  principal  directors  of  the  company,  and  whose  descendants 
have  been  extensive  landholders  in  America.  It  was  this 
relationship  that  secured  him  his  appointment,  he  having 
been  previously  but  a  clerk  for  the  company.  In  person  he 
is  described  as  close-jointed,  short,  and  exceedingly  corpulent. 
As  some  one  has  said,  "  He  looked  as  if  Dame  Nature  had 
designed  him  for  a  giant,  but  changed  her  mind."  His  ad- 
ministration was  marked  by  the  rebuilding  of  the  fort  on  a 
greatly  enlarged  scale ;  by  the  purchase  from  the  Indians  of 
"Nut"  (now  Governor's)  Island;  also  two  in  the  East  river 
above  Hurl  Gate,  now  known  as  Ward's  and  Randall's 
Islands.    Everardus  Bogardus,  the  first  clergyman  of  Man 


WILLIAM  KEITTj  THE  THIRD  GOVEENOE.  27 

hattan  whose  name  has  come  down  to  us,  is  believed  to  have 
come  over  in  the  ship  with  the  Governor.  During  this  reign 
the  first  church  edifice  was  erected.  It  was  a  wooden  struc- 
ture, and  stood  on  Pearl  street,  near  Broad.  Adam  Eoeland- 
sen,  the  first  schoolmaster,  was  introduced  about  the  same 
time.  The  town  was  but  a  hamlet  of  thatched  buildings  at 
that  period.  Hundreds  of  painted  savages  still  roamed  over 
the  island,  pursuing  game  through  the  tangled  woodlands, 
and  grew  their  vegetables  in  its  mellow  deposits.  A  steady 
trade  with  them  was  continued,  in  which  they  exchanged 
their  furs  and  vegetables,  receiving  too  often  gin,  rum,  or 
glass  beads  in  return.  Indeed,  one  has  well  said,  "  The  kind- 
hearted  Dutchmen  had  conceived  a  great  friendship  for  their 
savage  neighbors,  on  account  of  their  being  pleasant  men  to 
trade  with,  and  little  skilled  in  the  art  of  making  a  bargain." 

WILLIAM  KEIFT,   THE  THIRD  GOVERNOR. 

The  ship  "  Herring  "  arrived  at  Manhattan  on  the  2Sth  of 
March,  1638,  bringing  the  newly  appointed  Governor.  The 
affairs  of  the  colony  had  progressed  but  slowly.  It  had  been 
founded  by  a  company  of  merchants,  who  weighed  every- 
thing from  a  financial  standpoint;  high  tariffs  were  laid  upon 
the  industry  of  the  settlers,  which  produced  dissatisfaction 
and  led  to  frequent  altercations  between  the  people  and  the 
authorities.  They  were  held  together,  however,  by  the  fear 
of  a  savage  enemy  constantly  prowling  around  them.  Keift's 
administration  continued  nine  years,  and  became  unpopular 
and  unprofitable  to  the  company  in  consequence  of  the 
Indian  war,  into  which  he  was  unfortunately  drawn.  The 
first  advance  toward  popular  government  was,  however,  taken 
under  his  administration.  The  people  were  allowed  to  elect 
eight  representatives  to  assist  the  Governor  in  administering 
the  affairs  of  the  colony.  Building  lots  were  then  first  granted 
the  citizens.  In  1642  a  stone  tavern  was  erected  on  what  is 
.  now  Pearl  street,  which  afterwards  became  the  City  Hall.  A 


23 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


stone  church  was  also  erected  in  the  south-east  corner  of  the 
fort.  Governor  Keif  t,  having  been  relieved  from  office,  set 
sail  for  Holland  in  the  ship  "  Princess,"  July,  1647.  Several 
prominent  persons  were  on  board,  among  whom  was  Dominie 
Bogardus,  who  had  married  a  wealthy  widow  on  Manhattan, 
but  had  resolved  to  make  one  more  visit  to  the  fatherland. 
The  voyage  proved  disastrous.  The  pilot  mistook  the  chan- 
nel, entered  the  Severn,  and  wrecked  his  vessel  on  the  coast 
of  Wales.  Of  the  one  hundred  persons  on  board  but  twenty 
were  saved. 

PETER  STUYVESANT,  THE  LAST  OF  THE  DUTCH  GOVERNORS. 

Success  had  not  particularly  crowned  the  undertaking  of 
the  company.  It  was  computed  that  the  West  India 
Company  had,  between  the  years  1626  and  1644,  expended 
upon  the  settlement  over  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  above 
all  returns  made  to  it,  and  that  not  more  than  one  hundred 
men  remained  in  the  city,  exclusive  of  the  officers  and 
employes  of  the  company,  at  the  close  of  the  Indian  war  in 
1645.  Stuyvesant,  it  was  hoped,  would  retrieve  these  losses, 
and  secure  the  enlargement  and  stability  of  the  town.  He 
had  been  the  director  of  the  Dutch  colony  at  Curacoa,  where, 
in  a  battle  with  the  Portuguese,  he  had  lost  a  leg.  He  was  a 
brave  man,  with  considerable  breadth  of  mind  and  great  force 
of  character.  He  was  also  imperious,  impatient  of  contradic- 
tion, absolute  and  despotic  in  his  notions  of  government 
lie,  however,  excelled  all  his  predecessors  in  efforts  for  the 
advancement  of  the  colony,  and  the  good  of  the  people, 
among  whom  he  settled  after  the  English  conquest,  and  re- 
mained a  private  and  amiable  citizen  until  the  close  of  his 
life,  leaving  an  honorable  posterity  not  extinct  at  this  day. 
His  administration  was  characterized  by  great  vigor,  and  the 
town  soon  exhibited  marked  improvements.  As  is  usual, 
some  of  his  subjects  were  pleased,  and  some  dissatisfied. 
Drunkenness  and  profanity  were  strictly  prohibited,  and  no 


PETER  STUYVESANT,  THE  LAST  DUTCH  GOVERNOR.  29 


liquors  were  to  be  sold  to  the  Indians.  Other  abuses  were 
speedily  corrected.  In  1648  he  established  a  weekly 
market ;  in  1652  the  city  was  regularly  incorporated ;  the 
next  year  the  palisades  on  the  line  of  AVall  Street  were 
erected,  and  in  1657  the  streets  were  laid  out  and  named. 
The  population  of  the  place  had  also  wonderfully  increased. 
But  the  martial  fires  of  the  old  Governor  still  slumbered  in 
his  capacious  frame,  and  waited  an  opportunity  for  an  out- 
burst. This  was  soon  given.  Three  nationalities  had  estab- 
lished their  colonies  on  these  shores.  The  English  in  Vir- 
ginia and  Maryland,  and  on  the  eastern  coast,  had  protested 
against  the  establishment  of  New  Amsterdam,  which  divided 
their  colonies.  The  Swedes  established  themselves  on  the 
banks  of  the  Delaware,  under  the  protest  of  the  Dutch.  The 
Swedes  built  Fort  Christina  as  a  matter  of  common  defence, 
and  the  Dutch,  to  protect  their  own  trade  in  that  locality, 
erected  in  1650  Fort  Casimar,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Brandy- 
wine,  and  but  five  miles  from  this  Swedish  fortification. 
Regarding  this  an  encroachment,  the  Swedish  Governor  in 
1654  adroitly  captured  the  fort,  changed  its  name,  disarmed 
and  paroled  the  little  garrison.  The  next  year  Stuyvesant 
received  orders  to  recapture  the  fort,  and  drive  the  Swedes 
entirely  from  the  river.  This  was  a  welcome  message  to  the 
old  warrior. 

The  whole  force  of  New  Amsterdam  was  soon  afloat  in 
seven  ships  of  war,  with  the  intrepid 
Governor  as  commander,  and  the 
whole  Swedish  territory  speedily 
capitulated.  But  the  victorious 
Dutch  had  no  time  to  rejoice  over 
their  successes.  Two  thousand 
armed  savages,  taking  advantage 
of  the  defenceless  state  of  the 
colony  to  avenge  the  shooting  of  a 
squaw  some  time  previously,  overran  stuyvesants  seal. 
the  town,  after  which  they  departed  to  Hoboken,  Bavonia, 


30 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


and  Staten  Island,  and  in  three  days  murdered  one  hundred 
of  the  inhabitants,  carried  into  captivity  a  hundred  and  fifty 
more,  besides  destroying  property  valued  at  two  hundred 
thousand  guilders.  Stuyvesant  soon  returned,  and  while  he 
made  every  preparation  for  a  vigorous  war  against  the  In- 
dians, he  at  the  same  time  so  appeased  them  with  kindness 
and  presents,  that  from  motives  of  fear  and  friendship  they 
were  glad  to  conclude  a  peace  by  the  release  of  the  captives. 
His  power  over  the  Indians  was  always  wonderful. 

THE  SURRENDER  OF  THE  DUTCH  DYNASTY. 

A  still  greater  danger  had  long  hung  over  the  Dutch 
colony.  The  English  had  from  the  first  claimed  the  entire 
continent  as  having  been  discovered  by  Cabot.  In  vain  did 
the  Dutch  urge  their  own  discovery,  their  title  honorably 
secured  from  the  Indians,  and  the  fact  of  possession.  The 
Plymouth  colony  established  at  New  Haven  spread  gradually 
over  the  country,  until  it  held  much  of  Long  Island  and 
Westchester.  The  Virginia  colony  absorbed  the  territory  on 
the  Delaware  so  triumphantly  wrested  from  the  Swedes. 
Stuy vesant's  appeals  to  the  company  for  the  means  of  defence 
were  unheeded.  The  accession  of  Charles  II.  to  the  Eng- 
lish throne,  in  1664,  brought  matters  to  a  crisis.  He  granted 
to  his  brother  James,  Duke  of  York,  a  patent  of  the  territory 
lying  between  the  Connecticut  river  and  Delaware  bay,  cov- 
ering the  whole  of  the  Dutch  dominion  in  America.  The 
Duke  immediately  despatched  four  ships,  with  four  hundred 
and  fifty  soldiers,  to  take  possession  of  the  territory  he  had 
thus  acquired.  Late  in  August,  1664,  the  little  fleet  cast 
anchor  near  Coney  Island.  The  soldiers  were  landed  and  took 
possession  of  the  block-house  on  Staten  Island,  and  soon  cut 
off  Manhattan  from  the  neighboring  shores.  The  resolute 
Governor  made  what  preparation  possible  for  defence,  but 
the  colony  was  not  able  to  resist  a  siege.  The  palisades, 
effectual  enough  against  the  Indians,  were  of  little  use  against 
English  troops.    The  fort  itself  was  a  mere  sham.    The  pop- 


THE  SURRENDER  OF  THE  DUTCH  DYNASTY.  SI 

ulation  amounted  to  about  fifteen  hundred,  and  could  furnish 
but  a  few  hundred,  at  most,  able  to  bear  arms ;  and  to  crown 
all,  not  over  six  hundred  pounds  of  gunpowder  could  be  col- 
lected in  the  colony.  The  town,  standing  on  the  southern 
point  of  the  island,  was  exposed  from  all  sides  to  the  raking 
lire  of  the  fleet,  and  must  have  soon  been  one  smoking  ruin. 
Still,  the  brave  Governor  could  not  brook  the  thought  of  sur- 
render, and  as  soon  as  the  fleet  anchored  in  the  bay,  he  sent 
a  messenger  to  inquire  what  object  they  had  in  thus  entering 
a  friendly  port.  The  commander  returned  a  reply  asserting 
the  claim  of  Great  Britain  to  the  territory,  and  demanded  an 
immediate  surrender,  giving  assurances  that  all  submissive 
inhabitants  would  be  secured  in  their  liberty  and  estates. 
Having  promised  to  give  a  reply  on  the  following  morning, 
the  Governor  convened  his  council  and  the  city  magistrates, 
and  informed  them  of  the  demand,  but  withheld  the  letter 
containing  the  terms  of  capitulation.  A  demand  for  this 
document  on  the  part  of  the  burgomasters  greatly  enraged 
the  Governor,  who  dissolved  the  assembly  and  declared  his 
purpose  of  defending  the  town.  The  English  commander 
understood  the  condition  of  the  colony.  Knowing  its  de- 
fence utterly  impossible,  and  that  secret  heart-burnings  had 
long  existed  among  a  portion  of  its  inhabitants,  he  issued  an 
artful  proclamation  to  the  inhabitants,  and  made  arrangements 
for  recruiting  in  the  settlement.  The  landing  of  troops  at 
Brooklyn  to  storm  the  town,  and  the  anchoring  of  the  ships 
in  front  of  the  fort,  convinced  all  that  the  crisis  had  fully 
arrived.  Crowds  gathered  around  the  venerable  wooden- 
legged  Governor,  among  whom  was  his  own  son,  pleading  for 
the  stay  of  hostilities  by  the  surrender  of  the  town.  For  a 
time  he  was  inflexible,  saying,  uN~o  /  I  would  rather  he  carried 
out  dead  /  "  but  he  at  length  yielded,  performing  no  doubt  the 
most  painful  service  of  his  life.  On  the  morning  of  the  8th 
of  September,  1664,  Stuyvesant  marched  his  troops  out  of  Fort 
Amsterdam  with  the  honors  of  war,  and  the  English  took  pos- 
session and  raised  on  the  flagstaff  the  ensign  of  their  country. 
Thus  closed  the  reign  of  the  Knickerbockers,  after  holding 


32 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


Manhattan  fifty-five  years,  and  establishing  a  flourishing  and 
interesting  colony.  Governor  Stuyvesant  soon  after  de- 
parted for  Holland  to  give  an  account  of  his  administration 
to  the  West  India  Company,  after  which  he  returned,  lived 


STUYVESANT  IITTYS. 

and  died  on  a  large  farm  he  had  previously  purchased  in  the 
Bowery.  A  large  pear-tree  of  his  planting  stood  until  three 
years  ago  at  the  corner  of  Third  avenue  and  Thirteenth 
street.  This  monument  of  the  good  old  days  has  now  disap- 
peared— the  last  of  the  Knickerbockers. 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 

"gJHE  first  money  in  use  on  Manhattan  was 
Wampum,  i.e.,  small  beads  made  of 
shells,  sometimes  wrought  into  belts 
and  worn  as  ornaments.  Wampum  was 
of  two  kinds,  white  and  black  or  pur- 
ple color,  the  dark  colored  being  twice 
as  valuable  as  the  other.  Wampum 
consisted  of  cylindrical  pieces  of  testa- 
ceous fishes,  (hard-shell  clams  or  oys- 
ters,) a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  length,  and  in  diameter  less  than 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


33 


a  pipe  stem,  drilled  lengthwise  so  as  to  be  strung  upon  a 
thread.  A  piece  of  white  wampum  was  counted  equal  to  a 
farthing.  The  Dutch  and  English  traders  carried  into  the 
interior  their  knives,  combs,  scissors,  needles,  awls,  looking- 
glasses,  hatchets,  guns,  blankets,  etc.,  and  sold  them  to  the  na- 
tives for  seawant  or  wampum,  and  with  this  wampum  returned 
and  purchased  their  furs,  corn,  venison,  etc.,  on  the  seaboard, 
thus  artfully  avoiding  the  great  labor  of  transporting  the  furs 
and  grain  through  the  country.  This  circulating  medium 
was  used  in  New  England  also,  and  was  finally  regulated  by 
civilized  governments. 

The  Dutch  kept  five  festivals,  Kerstydt  (Christmas), 
Nieuw  jar  (New  Year),  Paas  (the  Passover),  Pinxter  (i.e., 
Whitsuntide),  and  San  Claas  (i.e.,  Saint  Nicholas,  or  Christ- 
kinkle  day).  Christmas  was  a  great  day  for  shooting-matches. 
Turkeys  and  other  fowls  were  placed  at  a  long  distance  from 
the  marksman,  every  one  paying  for  his  shot  and  bearing 
away  all  he  hit.  This  festival  is  still  continued  in  New  York, 
the  shooting  having  been  superseded  by  Church  services  and 
festivals,  in  which  the  Christmas  tree,  containing  a  present 
for  each  expected  to  attend,  forms  the  principal  object  of  at- 
traction. Presents  are  given  profusely  in  all  circles.  Mer- 
chants are  expected  to  give  presents  to  all  in  their  employ, 
and  often  expend  thousands  of  dollars  in  carrying  out  this 
costly  programme.  The  ingenious  stories  of  Santa  Claus  are 
not  repeated  as  much  as  formerly,  though  the  children  are  as 
much  interested  in  them  as  wrere  those  of  the  preceding  gen- 
erations. 

Paas  was  long  very  generally  observed  by  the  Dutch,  and 
colored  boiled  eggs  may  still  be  found  in  many  families  in 
the  city  and  country  on  the  return  of  this  festival.  Pinxter 
is  scarcely  remembered.  New  Year  was  the  great  festival 
of  the  whole  season.  The  tables  were  spread  with  cakes, 
cider,  wines,  indeed  everything  calculated  to  tempt  and  sat- 
isfy the  appetite.  Everybody  received  calls,  and  all  went  to 
see  their  friends.  General  Washington  resided  in  New  York 
3 


34  NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 

during  the  first  year  of  his  Presidency,  in  the  Franklin 
House,  at  the  head  of  Cherry  street.  On  the  first  day  of 
January,  1790,  he  was  waited  on  by  most  of  the  principal 
gentlemen  of  the  city.  They  were  severally  introduced  to  the 
President,  who  received  them  with  marked  cordiality,  and 
after  an  agreeable  interchange  of  thought  they  severally  with- 
drew,  greatly  pleased  with  the  appearance  and  manners  of 
the  President,  to  most  of  whom  he  was  a  personal  stranger. 
In  the  evening  the  ladies  came  to  call  on  Mrs.  Washington. 
The  evening  was  beautiful,  and  many  came.  All  were  cor- 
dially received,  and  after  being  seated,  coffee,  plain  and  plum 
cake  were  served,  which  was  followed  by  familiar  conversa- 
tion, in  which  Mrs.  Washington  was  conspicuous.  The  Gen- 
eral, who  had  been  greatly  pleased  with  the  calls  of  the  gen- 
tlemen, was  present  during  the  evening.  Not  being  familiar 
with  their  usages,  he  ventured  to  ask  whether  this  matter  was 
casual  or  customary,  to  which  a  lady  replied  that  it  was  their 
annual  custom,  received  from  their  Dutch  forefathers,  and 
which  they  had  always  commemorated.  After  a  short  pause, 
he  observed,  "  The  highly  favored  situation  of  New  York, 
will,  in  process  of  years,  attract  emigrants,  who  will  gradually 
change  its  customs  and  manners ;  but  let  whatever  changes 
take  place,  never  forget  the  cordial,  cheerful  observance  of 
New  Year's  day."  Emigration  has  not  changed  this  ancient 
custom.  English,  Irish,  Scotch,  Jews,  and  Gentiles,  rich  and 
poor,  continue  the  practice  ;  tables  groan  under  a  burden  of 
rich  viands  and  cakes,  costly  wines,  lemonade,  and  rare  fruits. 
Nearly  every  house  is  still  open  for  callers,  who  begin  their 
circuits  in  the  morning,  many  of  them  continuing  their 
travels  until  the  small  hours  of  the  night.  While  there  are 
some  things  pleasant  and  desirable  in  this  ancient  custom,  it 
is  also  attended  with  so  much  excess,  that  the  first  day  of  Jan- 
uary closes  annually  in  New  York  upon  more  tipsy  dandies 
than  can  be  found  in  almost  any  other  city  in  Christendom. 

Thanksgiving  is  now  very  generally  observed  in  New 
York,  services  being  held  in  most  of  the  churches,  and  aL 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 


35 


business  is  suspended.  This  custom  originated  in  New  Eng- 
land, and  has  gradually  spread  its  way  through  most  of  the 
country. 

Independence  Day,  originating  with  the  publication  of  the 
Declaration  in  Philadelphia,  is  a  great  holiday  in  New  York. 
The  incessant  discharge  of  fire-arms  from  early  morn  'till 
evening,  is  very  distressing  to  people  of  weak  nerves.  The 
brilliant  fireworks  during  the  evening  of  the  4th  of  July,  in 
the  parks  and  squares,  are  not  excelled  in  the  world. 

The  Dutch  mansions  were  complete  models  of  neatness  and 
order.  The  floors  had  no  carpets,  and  were  almost  worn  out 
with  repeated  scourings  of  soap  and  white  sand.  Their  par- 
lors were  choicely  kept,  and  their  tables  contained  no  rich 
plate. 

Dancing  was  a  common  recreation  among  the  Dutch.  The 
supper  at  a  dance  consisted  of  chocolate  and  bread. 

All  marriages  among  the  ancient  Dutch  had  to  be  pub- 
lished three  weeks  beforehand  in  the  churches,  otherwise  a 
license  must  be  purchased  from  the  Governor.  This  latter 
was  considered  costly. 

A  good  suit  of  clothes  worn  at  church  was  invariably  taken 
off  and  laid  away  on  the  return. 

The  Dutch  were  fond  of  posterity.  A  father  sometimes 
gave  his  son  a  bundle  of  goose-quills,  telling  him  to  give  one 
to  each  of  his  sons. 

Gentlemen  in  good  circumstances  thought  nothing  of  car- 
rying a  bag  containing  a  hundred  pounds  of  meal  through  the 
streets,  and  would  have  been  ashamed  of  a  porter. 

It  was  the  custom  of  the  early  Dutch  merchants  and  spec- 
ulators to  make  their  fortunes  out  of  their  customers  and 
nothing  from  their  creditors.  Alas  !  how  the  world  changes ! 


36 


"NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


CHAPTER  II. 
ENGLISH  COLONIAL  HISTORY. 

SUCCESSFUL  ADMINISTRATION   OF  COL.  NICOLS  RECAPTURE  OF  MAN- 
HATTAN BY  THE  DUTCH  THE  CAREER  AND  TRAGIC  END  OF  LEISLER, 

THE  PEOPLE'S  CHOICE  CAPTAIN  KIDD,  THE  NEW  YORK  PIRATE  

RIP  VAN  DAM  THE  TRIAL  AND  TRIUMPH  OF  LIBERTY  THE  NEGRO 

PLOT  OF  1741  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  ANGLO-SAXON  TROUBLOUS  TIMES 

APPROACHING. 

UCH  dissatisfaction  was  very  reason- 
ably expected  with  this  sudden  change 
of  authority,  though  it  proved,  upon 
the  whole,  quite  satisfactory  to  the 
Dutch  colony.  The  inhabitants  were 
confirmed  in  their  right  of  property 
and  their  custom  of  inheritance; 
they  were  allowed  to  continue  their 
commerce  with  the  Holland  merchants,  liberty  of  conscience 
in  matters  of  religion  was  not  abridged,  and  they  were  prom- 
ised exemption  from  impressment  in  war  service  against  any 
nation  whatsoever.  They  were  allowed  to  elect  inferior  offi- 
cers and  magistrates,  and  any  who  were  dissatisfied  were  per- 
mitted to  leave  the  country.  The  first  English  Governor, 
Col.  Eichard  Nicols,  established  the  system  of  trial  by  jury, 
a  hitherto  unknown  procedure  in  America.  The  Dutch  Gov- 
ernment at  that  period  was  reputed  the  most  liberal  govern- 
ment in  Europe ;  but,  unfortunately,  the  Government  had 
never  had  control  of  the  colony,  that  having  been  committed 
to  the  mercenary  management  of  a  private  mercantile  cor- 
poration. Every  precaution  to  strengthen  the  hold  of  the 
new  government  on  the  inhabitants  was  taken.    All  grants  of 


RECAPTURE  OF  MANHATTAN  BY  THE  DUTCH.  37 


land  previously  made  were  renewed  or  confirmed,  and  all 
individual  interests  were  carefully  guarded.  All  property 
belonging  to  the  West  India  Company  was  confiscated  and 
sold  at  auction  to  the  inhabitants.  This  linked  the  new  ad- 
ministration to  their  titles,  and  made  it  essential  to  the  posses- 
sion of  their  property.  It  was  not  until  July  12, 1665,  that  the 
Governor  felt  safe  in  attempting  any  decided  change  in  the 
government.  On  that  day  he  issued  his  proclamation  revok- 
ing the  old  system  of  burgomasters  and  schepens,  intro- 
ducing in  their  place  a  Mayor,  a  Board  of  Aldermen,  and  a 
Sheriff,  all  of  whom  were  to  be  appointed  by  the  Governor. 
The  name  of  the  city  was  also  changed  to  New  York,  in  honor 
of  the  Duke.  Colonel  Nicols,  after  a  successful  administra- 
tion of  four  years,  was  at  his  own  request  relieved  from  duty, 
and  was  succeeded  in  office  by  Colonel  Francis  Lovelace,  an 
offker  of  the  English  army. 


RECAPTURE  OF  MANHATTAN"  BY  THE  DUTCH. 


N  1672  war  again  broke  out  between  England 
and  Holland.  The  sturdy  Dutch  having 
waited  anxiously  for  an  opportunity  to  re- 
cover their  lost  possessions  in  America,  fitted 
out  a  squadron  of  five  ships  to  cruise  on  the 
American  coast,  with  instructions  to  inflict  as 
much  injury  as  possible  upon  the  English  colony  and 
commerce.  Though  the  authorities  at  New  York 
were  apprised  of  this  fact,  little  preparation  for  defence 
was  undertaken.  Governor  Lovelace  appears  to  have 
been  a  moderate,  good-natured  genius,  vastly  more  interested 
in  trips  of  pleasure  than  the  affairs  of  government ;  hence, 
he  scrupled  not  to  leave  for  distant  parts  of  the  country, 
though  the  city  was  liable  to  be  surprised  at  any  hour  with 
the  approach  of  a  hostile  fleet.    In  his  absence  the  fort  was 


33 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


left  under  command  of  Captain  John  Manning,  a  white- 
feathered  hero,  full  of  pomp  and  bluster,  every  way  capable 
of  eating  a  rich  dinner  and  of  adjusting  a  pair  of  shoulder- 
straps,  though  quite  incapable  of  conducting  any  ordinary 
correspondence  or  of  resisting  an  attack. 

In  February,  1673,  a  rumor  reached  the  city  that  the  en- 
emy's fleet  had  been  discovered  off  the  coast  of  Virginia. 
The  Governor  was  luxuriating  among  his  rich  friends  in 
Westchester.  A  hasty  summons  from  Captain  Manning 
brought  him  to  the  city,  where  several  hundred  troops  were 
mustered,  but  as  no  enemy  appeared  they  were  soon  dispersed. 
In  July  he  planned  a  trip  to  Connecticut.  (A  New  York  sum- 
mer vacation.)  A  few  days  after  his  departure,  two  Dutch 
men-of-war  appeared  off  Sandy  Hook.  The  affrighted  Man- 
ning again  sent  a  dispatch  to  the  Governor,  and  caused  the 
drum  to  be  beaten  through  the  streets  for  recruits.  The  only 
noticeable  response  was  from  the  Dutch  malcontents,  who, 
overjoyed  at  the  sight  of  the  flag  of  the  "fadderlandt,"  on 
pretence  of  doing  service,  entered  the  fort  and  spiked  many 
of  the  cannon,  after  which  they  departed,  leaving  the  chicken- 
hearted  captain  to  fight  his  battle  on  his  own  line  and  in  his 
own  way.  Meanwhile  the  enemies'  ships  advanced  in  front 
of  the  fort,  and  after  some  interchange  of  communications, 
in  which  Manning  exhibited  the  greatest  imbecility,  the  city 
with  its  fortifications  was  surrendered  without  firing  a  gun  in 
its  defence.  The  pusillanimous  conduct  of  Manning,  in  sur- 
rendering the  city  without  the  slightest  resistance,  was  a 
matter  of  great  mortification  to  the  English  people,  who  then, 
as  now,  prided  themselves  on  their  military  prestige.  After 
the  English  authority  was  again  established  on  the  island, 
Manning  was  arraigned  and  tried  bv  court-martial  for  cow- 
ardice  and  treachery,  and  was  convicted.  His  sword  was 
broken  over  his  head  in  front  of  the  City  Hall,  and  he  was 
incapacitated  from  holding  any  station  of  trust  or  authority 
under  His  Majesty's  government  ever  afterward. 

The  Dutch  commanders  appointed  Captain  Anthony  Colve 


THE  CAREER  AND  TRAGIC  END  OF  LEI6LER. 


Governor,  who  changed  the  name  of  the  city  to  New  Orange, 
and  proceeded  to  reorganize  the  municipal  institutions,  con- 
forming them  again  to  those  of  the  fatherland.  Expecting 
an  attack  from  the  English  to  recover  their  lost  territory. 
Governor  Colve  with  commendable  dispatch  repaired  the 
palisades,  improved  the  fortifications,  and  placed  the  city  in 
a  good  state  of  defence.  But  the  Dutch  were  not  long  al- 
lowed to  enjoy  the  fruit  of  this  toil.  The  treaty  of  peace 
signed  February  9,  1674,  between  England  and  Holland,  re- 
stored Manhattan  to  the  English  crown,  and  on  the  10th  of 
November,  1674,  the  Dutch  Government  departed  from 
American  soil  for  the  last  time. 


THE  CAREER  AND  TRAGIC  END  OF  LEISLER,  THE  PEOPLE'S 

CHOICE. 

S  soon  as  the  final  cession  of  Man- 
hattan to  the  English  dominion  had 
been  secured  by  the  peace  treaty  with 
the  Holland  Government,  the  Duke 
of  York  applied  for  and  received 
from  his  brother  Charles  II.  the 
confirmation  of  his  former  title  to 
the  country,  and  immediately  ap- 
pointed Sir  Edmond  Andros  Gov- 
ernor of  the  province.  Andros,  though  a  man  of  ability,  was 
the  unscrupulous  tool  of  his  master,  the  Duke  of  York,  and 
his  arbitrary  tyranny  over  the  people  soon  rendered  his 
government  immensely  unpopular.  During  his  administra- 
tion seven  public  wells  w ere  dug,  a  new  dock  was  constructed!, 
new  streets  were  laid  out,  and  the  "  bolting  act  "  passed. 
This  latter  granted  the  inhabitants  of  Manhattan  the  exclu- 
sive monopoly  of  bolting  flour,  a  business  which,  twenty  years 
later,  furnished  employment  and  subsistence  to  nearly  two- 


40 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


thirds  of  the  population.  Andros  was  recalled  in  1683,  and 
Colonel  Thomas  Dongan  appointed  in  his  stead.  The  death 
of  Charles  IL,  in  1685,  brought  the  Duke  of  York  to  the 
English  throne  under  the  title  of  James  II.  The  great  polit- 
ical battles  between  Catholicism  and  Protestantism  in  Europe 
were  now  fiercely  renewed,  James  seeking  with  every  ap- 
pliance the  restoration  of  the  Koman  Catholic  religion  in 
England,  as  it  had  existed  at  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of 
Henry  VIII.  The  American  colonies  were  largely  peopled 
with  Protestant  refugees,  who  had  fled  the  tyranny  of  the  Old 
World,  and  who  could  but  take  a  lively  interest  in  the  pending 
struggle.  It  was  known  that  Governor  Dongan,  though  a  man 
of  moderation  and  caution,  was  a  zealous  Catholic,  who  had 
received  instructions  from  his  master  to  favor  the  introduction 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  into  the  province.  As  the 
contest  proceeded  in  England,  the  tides  of  public  feeling  ran 
high  in  this  country.  The  climax  was  reached  on  the  recep- 
tion of  the  news  of  the  landing  and  proclamation  of  the 
Prince  of  Orange,  and  the  abdication  and  flight  of  the  former 
king.  The  revolution  in  England  immediately  extended  to 
this  country.  The  Bostonians  rose  to  arms,  deposed  the  Eng- 
lish officers,  sent  them  back  to  the  mother  country,  and  estab- 
lished a  popular  government.  New  York  was  more  conserv- 
ative. Governor  Dongan,  too  tolerant  in  his  policy  to  please 
the  king,  had  been  superseded  a  short  time  previously  by 
Francis  Nicholson,  another  Catholic,  who,  on  the  reception  of 
the  news,  betook  himself  on  board  a  vessel  lying  in  the  harbor, 
and  sailed  for  England,  leaving  the  colony  without  a  ruler. 
Two  political  parties  quickly  came  to  the  surface,  each  of 
which  avowed  its  loyalty  to  the  reign  of  William  and  Mary. 
One  consisted  of  the  members  of  the  late  Council,  supported 
by  a  few  wealthy  citizens,  and  claimed  that  the  colonial  gov- 
ernment was  not  subverted  by  the  revolution  in  England,  or 
by  the  flight  of  the  Governor;  that  the  second  in  authority 
with  the  Council  inherited  the  power  to  administer  the  gov- 
ernment, until  matters  should  be  definitely  settled  by  the 


THE  CAREER  AND  TRAGIC  END  OF  LEISLER. 


41 


crown.  The  other  party,  which  embodied  the  masses  of  the 
people,  maintained  that  by  the  overthrow  of  the  late  king,  and 
the  abandonment  of  the  country  by  the  Governor,  the  previous 
system  of  government  was  totally  overthrown,  and  that  the 
people  were  empowered  to  appoint  a  provisional  government 
of  their  own.  But  in  times  of  general  and  intense  excitement 
there  is  little  chance  for  discussion ;  prejudice  and  inclination 
are  immensely  more  potent  than  logic.  The  public  money  of 
the  city,  amounting  to  £773  12s.,  had  been  deposited  for  safe 
keeping  in  the  fort,  which  was  garrisoned  with  a  few  troops. 
A  crowd  of  citizens  took  possession  of  the  fortification  with- 
out resistance,  after  which  Jacob  Leisler,  senior  captain  of  the 
trainbands,  was  unanimously  appointed  to  take  command  of 
the  same,  with  power  to  preserve  the  peace,  and  suppress 
rebellion  until  instructions  were  received  from  England. 
The  gentleman  thus  elevated  to  be  the  principal  hero,  and 
bear  in  the  end  the  sad  penalty  of  this  exciting  epoch,  was 
one  of  the  oldest  and  wealthiest  of  the  Dutch  burghers.  He 
had  entered  Manhattan  as  a  soldier  in  the  service  of  the  West 
India  Company  in  1660,  and  soon  after  married  the  widow  of 
Cornelius  Yanderveer,  and  thus  became  uncle  of  Stephanus 
Yan  Cortland t  and  Nicholas  Bayard,  who  were  afterwards 
the  principal  instigators  in  his  execution.  He  had  already 
held  a  commission  in  the  colony,  and  fully  demonstrated  his 
capacity  and  loyalty.  No  sooner  had  he  taken  possession  of 
the  fort,  however,  than  active  measures  were  undertaken  by 
the  opposite  party  to  subvert  his  administration.  Nicholas 
Bayard  became  the  principal  opponent  of  the  Leislerian  Gov- 
ernment. Bayard  was  the  cousin  of  Mrs.  Peter  Stuy  vesant,  of 
genuine  Holland  origin,  had  by  mercantile  pursuits  amassed  a 
large  fortune,  and  had  long  been  an  active  politician.  He  had 
served  as  Mayor,  and  was  at  this  time  colonel  of  the  train- 
bands, of  which  Leisler  was  senior  captain.  His  party  having 
failed  to  get  possession  of  the  fort  or  custom-house,  he  next 
tried,  but  in  vain,  to  disaffect  the  militia.  Finding  his  influence 
gone,  and  alarmed  for  his  personal  safety,  he,  with  Colonel 


42 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


Peter  Schuyler,  took  refuge  at  Albany,  where  they  labored  in- 
dustriously to  excite  hostility  to  Leisler  and  his  party.  Leisler 
was  supported  by  Massachusetts,  and  the  General  Court  of 
Connecticut,  by  the  citizens  of  other  provinces ;  but  the  au- 
thorities at  Albany,  probably  through  the  influence  of  Bayard, 
refused  for  a  period  to  recognize  him.  His  administration 
appears  to  have  been  just,  and  considering  the  times,  moder- 
ate. The  first  Mayor  elected  by  the  people  was  under  his 
administration. 

France  having  espoused  the  cause  of  the  exiled  king,  war 
broke  out  on  the  frontier  between  the  French  of  Canada  and 
their  Indian  allies,  and  the  English  colonies.  The  thriving 
settlement  at  Schenectady  was  burned,  and  nearly  all  the 
inhabitants  massacred  in  one  night.  These  depredations  led 
to  a  general  movement  on  the  part  of  the  authorities  at 
Albany,  New  York,  and  New  England,  and  two  expeditions 
were  fitted  out,  one  against  Montreal,  and  the  other  against 
Quebec.  Neither  of  these  accomplished  their  mission,  and 
Leisler's  administration  can  hardly  be  regarded  a  success 
though  his  motives  were  certainly  only  those  of  a  genuine 
patriot. 

In  December,  1689,  a  messenger  from  the  English  Govern- 
ment arrived  at  Boston  with  a  communication  addressed  "  To 
Francis  Nicholson,  or,  in  his  absence,  to  such  as  for  the  time 
being  takes  care  for  preserving  the  peace  and  administering 
the  laws  in  his  Majesty's  province  of  New  York."  Anxious 
to  obtain  possession  of  the  letter  and  what  authority  it  might 
confer,  Bayard  and  one  or  two  of  his  adherents  secretly  en- 
tered New  York,  and  on  the  arrival  of  the  messenger  asserted 
their  pretensions  and  demanded  the  missive.  After  some 
deliberation,  however,  the  messenger  delivered  the  package 
to  those  actually  in  power.  The  document  authorized  the 
person  in  power  to  take  the  chief  command  as  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  and  to  appoint  a  council  to  assist  him  in  conduct- 
ing the  government.  Leisler  carried  out  these  instructions. 
A  riot  ensued,  in  which  an  attempt  was  made  to  seize  Leis- 


THE  CAREER  AND  TRAGIC  END  OF  LEISLER. 


43 


ler,  after  which  he  issued  a  warrant  for  the  arrest  of  Bayard 
and  others,  on  the  charge  of  high  misdemeanor  against  his 
Majesty's  authority.  Bayard  was  arrested  and  thrown  into 
prison,  and  on  the  following  day  a  court  was  called  to  try 
him  for  treason.  Finding  his  affairs  suddenly  brought  to 
extremities,  Bayard  confessed  his  faults,  and  supplicated  for 
mercy,  which  was  granted,  though  he  was  retained  a  prisoner 
for  fourteen  months.  Early  in  his  administration,  Leisler 
had  sent  a  report  of  his  doings  to  the  English  throne.  It 
was,  however,  written  in  broken  English,  a  language  he  had 
never  mastered  ;  and  as  every  disappointed  English  Governor 
stood  ready  to  malign  his  motives  and  decry  his  usurpations, 
a  violent  prejudice  was  probably  excited  against  him.  Late 
in  the  year  1690,  the  Prince  of  Orange  appointed  Henry 
Sloughter  Governor  of  New  York,  and  Major  Richard  In- 
goldsby  Lieutenant-Governor,  who  set  sail  for  America  with 
several  ships  and  a  small  body  of  troops.  A  storm  separated 
the  vessels  at  sea,  and  Ingoldsby  landed  two  months  previous 
to  the  arrival  of  his  superior.  On  landing,  Ingoldsby  an- 
nounced the  appointment  of  Sloughter,  and  demanded  the 
fort  for  the  accommodation  of  his  troops.  Leisler  expressed 
his  willingness  to  surrender  the  fort  and  his  entire  authority, 
but  very  properly  demanded  that  previous  to  it  the  new- 
comer should  produce  his  royal  commission.  The  papers 
were,  however,  in  the  possession  of  Sloughter,  and  no  sort  of 
credentials  could  be  produced.  Leisler  then  offered  the  City 
Hall  for  the  accommodation  of  the  English  troops,  declining 
to  surrender  the  fort  until  an  officer  duly  commissioned  ar- 
rived. Ingoldsby,  with  a  haughty  dignity,  such  as  no  wise 
officer  sensible  of  the  proper  forms  of  authority  would  ex- 
hibit, issued  a  proclamation  calling  on  the  people  to  assist 
him  in  overcoming  all  opposition  to  his  Majesty's  command. 
This  was  bravely  replied  to  by  Leisler  on  the  following  day, 
charging  whatever  of  bloodshed  should  ensue  to  his  oppo- 
nent, and  forbidding  him  to  commit  any  hostile  acts  against 
the  city,  fort,  or  province,  at  his  utmost  peril.    A  cloud  of 


44 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


wild  agitation  and  uncertainty  hung  over  the  city  for  seven 
long  weeks,  until  on  the  19th  of  March  the  missing  vessel, 
with  the  storm-tossed  Governor,  entered  the  harbor.  Slough- 
ter  immediately  landed,  selected  his  council  from  among  the 
enemies  of  Leisler,  and  proceeded  to  the  City  Hall,  where  he 
published  his  commission.  Having  sworn  in  the  members 
of  his  council,  he  directed  Ingoldsby  to  demand  possession 
of  the  fort,  though  it  was  now  eleven  o'clock  at  night.  Leis- 
ler, to  avoid  any  deception,  dispatched  Ensign  Stoll,  who  had 
seen  Sloughter  in  England,  with  a  message  to  the  Governor, 
charging  him  to  eye  him  closely.  A  second  demand  was 
made  for  the  fort,  and  Leisler  dispatched  the  Mayor  and 
another  prominent  officer  to  make  to  the  Governor  all  neces- 
sary explanations,  and  to  transfer  the  fort.  On  entering  his 
presence  they  were,  however,  handed  over  instantly  to  the 
guards,  without  being  allowed  to  speak.  Another  ineffectual 
demand  for  the  fort  was  made,  after  which  the  matter  was 
allowed  to  rest  until  the  next  day. 

On  the  following  morning,  Leisler  addressed  a  polite  and 
congratulatory  letter  to  the  Governor,  asking  to  be  released 
from  duty,  and  offering  the  fort  with  all  its  arms  and  stores, 
expressing  also  his  willingness  to  give  an  exact  account  of 
all  his  doings.  An  officer  dispatched  to  receive  the  fort  was 
ordered  to  release  Bayard  and  Nichols,  who  were  still  in  con- 
finement, and  to  arrest  Leisler  and  his  principal  adherents. 
Bayard  and  Nichols  were  at  once  admitted  and  sworn  into 
the  council,  and  Leisler  and  eleven  of  his  friends  arrested. 
Two  weeks  later  they  were  arraigned  for  trial.  Leisler  set 
up  no  defence,  alleging  that  the  court  had  no  authority  in  the 
case  —  that  the  king  of  England  only  could  decide  whether 
he  had  acted  without  his  authority  or  not.  Leisler  and  his 
son-in-law,  Milborne,  who  had  acted  as  Secretary,  were  pro- 
nounced usurpers  and  traitors,  and  condemned  to  death.  On 
the  16th  of  May,  1G91,  amid  a  storm  of  rain,  while  the  dissi- 
pated Governor  and  his  satellites  were  revelling  at  a  drunken 
feast,  they  were  brought  out  for  execution.    The  scaffold 


THE  CAREER  AND  TRAGIC  END  OF  LEISLER. 


45 


was  erected  on  the  ground  now  covered  by  the  New  York 
post  office,  and  in  full  view  of  Leisler's  fine  residence.  Mil- 
borne  offered  a  prayer  for  the  king,  queen,  and  the  officers 
of  the  province.  Leisler  delivered  a  long  address,  which  dis- 
played the  workings  of  a  fine  mind,  and  a  good  heart,  after 
which  he  died  without  a  murmur,  amid  the  tears  and  lamen- 
tations of  the  populace. 

Thus  closed  the  career  of  the  first  New  York  Governor 
elected  by  the  people.  Leisler  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
unduly  ambitious  for  political  honors.  He  was  a  patriotic, 
honest,  high-minded  Dutchman  ;  wholly  destitute  of  the  arts 
and  intrigues  of  the  modern  politician.  Chosen  by  his  coun- 
trymen, like  Washington  at  a  later  period,  he  devoted  him- 
self with  all  his  energies  for  the  advancement  of  the  common 
weal,  and  died  a  martyr  to  the  cause  he  served.  Possessed 
of  great  influence,  he  incited  no  insurrection  to  prevent  his 
execution ;  and  wasted  none  of  his  vast  estate  in  purchasing 
a  pardon.  He  did  not  cringe  and  beg  for  life  as  his  enemies 
had  meanly  done  ;  but  asserting  his  sincerity,  like  an  honest, 
brave  man  he  expired,  trusting  in  God,  and  praying  for  his 
enemies.  His  execution,  ordered  over  the  signature  of  a 
drunken  Governor,  was  the  first  ripe  fruit  of  that  spirit  of 
English  usurpation  which  culminated  at  length  in  the 
numerous  gory  fields  of  the  American  Revolution.  Four 
years  after  his  death,  his  worthy  son,  after  a  series  of  well-timed 
efforts,  secured  from  the  English  Parliament  the  triumphant 
reversal  of  the  attainder,  and  the  complete  exoneration  of 
his  father  from  the  charge  of  usurpation. 


46 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


CAPTAIN  KIDD,  THE  NEW  YORK  PIRATE. 

NE  melancholy  event  in  human 
history    too    frequently  gives 
place  to  another  still  more  ap- 
palling.    The  frontier  war  be- 
gun during  the  administration 
of  Leisler,  continued  its  ravages 
for  a  number  of  years  after 
his  death.    Governor  Fletcher 
wisely  formed  an  alliance  with 
the  Iroquois  Indians,  who  proved  a  valuable  defence  against 
these  hostile  inroads.    It  was  clearly  the  design  of  the  French 
Government  to  harass  and  cripple  the  frontier  settlements, 
until  such  times  as  it  could  overwhelm  the  cities,  and  so  wipe 
out  the  English  authority  from  the  country.  During  these  per- 
ilous years,  great  losses  and  calamities  were  inflicted  on  the 
colonies,  and  the  people  sighed  for  security  and  rest.  But 
another  evil,  equally  disastrous  to  the  development  of  the  city, 
had  long  preyed  upon  its  commerce.  The  slave  trade  had  been 
considered  legitimate  since  the  founding  of  the  colony,  and  the 
Dutch  have  the  unenviable  honor  of  introducing  this  iniqui- 
tous system.    During  the  continuance  of  the  Dutch  dynasty, 
however,  this  trade  appears  to  have  been  carried  on  by  nan- 
sient  Dutch  traders,  who  obtained  the  blacks  from  the  African 
kings,  on  tne  coasts  of  Guinea,  and  to  have  formed  no  part 
of  the  regular  business  of  the  shipping  merchants  of  Manhat- 
tan.   This  continued  policy  of  legalized  theft  and  brutality 
necessarily  corrupted  the  men  of  the  sea,  and  fitted  them  for 
any  undertaking  of  treachery  and  daring.    It  is  difficult  in- 
culcating theft  and  honesty  in  the  same  lesson.    During  the 
continuance  of  the  war  between  France  and  England,  many 
privateers  had  also  been  fitted  out  from  England  and  New 
York,  to  prey  upon  the  French  merchantmen,  which  greatly 
encouraged  the  licentious  tendencies  of  the  sailors.    It  is 


CAPTAIN  KEDDj  THE  NEW  YORK  PIRATE.  47 

said  that  many  of  these,  failing  to  seize  the  legitimate  objects 
of  their  pursuit,  to  prevent  failure  to  the  expedition,  fell 
upon  friendly  vessels,  which  they  plundered  and  sunk,  return- 
ing in  triumph  with  their  booty.  So  difficult  is  it  for  adven- 
turous men,  long  trained  in  these  schools  of  vice,  and  feasted 
with  ill-gotten  gain,  to  return  to  the  walks  of  common  indus- 
try, that  at  the  close  of  the  war  the  seas  literally  swarmed 
with  armed  pirates.  Many  merchants  suspended  business  in 
consequence  of  these  incessant  perils ;  and  it  is  even  hinted 
that  not  a  few  of  them,  as  well  as  higher  functionaries,  in- 
cluding Governor  Fletcher  himself,  became  abettors  and 
partners  in  these  piratical  enterprises.  The  American  seas, 
with  a  thinly  populated  coast  of  two  thousand  miles,  indented 
with  numerous  harbors,  rivers,  and  inroads,  and  with  a  poorly 
organized  government,  furnished  perhaps  the  safest  retreat 
for  these  wandering  corsairs.  Their  merchandise  was  largely 
disposed  of  through  the  Spanish  merchants,  who  had  been 
so  deeply  demoralized  by  their  Central  American  plunders 
that  they  cared  little  whence  they  received  their  goods,  pro- 
vided they  yielded  a  satisfactory  profit.  It  is  probable  that 
New  York  merchants,  also,  were  not  guiltless.  Before  the 
conclusion  of  the  war,  these  depredations  became  so  alarm- 
ing that  many  New  York  merchants  besought  the  English 
ministry  to  institute  measures  to  suppress  piracv.  Governor 
Fletcher,  who  had  been  accused  on  every  side  of  complicity 
with  these  malefactors,  was  removed,  and  Lord  Bellamont 
appointed  in  his  stead,  with  instructions  to  extirpate  piracy 
from  the  American  seas.  As  every  English  vessel  was  at 
that  time  engaged  in  the  war  with  France,  Bellamont  formed 
a  stock-company,  in  which  the  King,  Chancellor  Somers,  the 
Earl  of  Romney,  the  Duke  of  Shrewsbury,  the  Earl  of  Ox- 
ford, Bellamont,  and  Robert  Livingston,  became  sharehold- 
ers. A  written  agreement  was  made,  consisting  of  several 
articles,  which  recited,  in  substance,  that  Bellamont  should 
furnish  £5,000,  this  sum  being  four-fifths  of  the  outlay  in 
the  undertaking,  and  that  the  remaining  fifth  should  be 


48 


NEW  YOEK  ANI>  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


supplied  by  Livingston,  and  the  captain  of  the  expeditioD. 
Livingston,  at  the  opening  of  the  negotiations,  had  introduced 
Captain  William  Kidd  (sometimes  called  Robert  Kidd),  with 
whom  he  had  just  crossed  the  Atlantic,  as  a  man  well  qualified 
for  such  an  undertaking.  Kidd  was  a  Scotchman  by  birth, 
had  followed  the  sea  from  Lis  youth,  had  been  captain  of  a 
privateer  in  the  West  Indies,  and  was  at  that  time  captain  of 
a  packet  plying  between  New  York  and  London.  He  was  in 
the  prime  of  life,  and  had  several  years  previously  married 
a  respectable  lady  in  New  York,  with  whom  he  had  since 
lived,  in  his  own  house,  in  Liberty  Street,  where  he  was  re- 
garded a  wealthy  and  honorable  seaman.  It  is  said  that  the 
h'rst  rich  carpet  on  Manhattan  was  in  Kidd's  parlor,  though 
he  is  not  believed  to  have  been  greatly  dishonest  until  the 
last  three  years  of  his  life.  As  he  was  an  experienced  and 
resolute  commander,  with  extensive  knowledge  of  the  lurking 
places  of  the  pirates,  and  of  many  of  the  pirates  themselves, 
he  was  considered  (forgetting  the  force  of  his  old  habits)  the 
fittest  person  to  take  charge  of  the  expedition.  It  is  now 
easily  discovered  that  two  fatal  mistakes  were  made  in  plan- 
ning this  expedition.  First,  the  vessel  should  have  been  a 
regular  man-of-war,  under  the  direction  of  the  general  gov- 
ernment, in  which  the  captain  had  no  capital,  and  from  which 
no  one  expected  a  profit.  On  the  other  hand,  though  com- 
missioned by  the  king,  and  expected  to  promote  the  public 
good,  it  was  the  property  of  a  private  corporation,  and  ex- 
pected to  bring  large  pecuniary  returns.  The  prizes  captured 
were  to  be  taken  into  Boston  Harbor,  and  delivered  to  Lord 
Bellamont.  The  parties  agreed  that  if  no  prizes  were  cap- 
tured, the  £5,000  advanced  by  Bellamont  should  be  refunded, 
and  the  title  of  the  vessel  be  vested  thereafter  in  Livingston 
and  Kidd.  But  as  soon  as  Kidd  delivered  to  Bellamont  prize 
goods  to  the  amount  of  £100,000,  then  the  ship  was  to  be- 
long to  Livingston  and  Kidd.  Bellamont  and  those  he  repre- 
sented were  to  receive  four-fifths  of  the  net  proceeds,  the 
remaining  fifth  belonging  to  Livingston  and  Kidd.  The 


CAPTAIN  KTDD,  THE  NEW  YORK  PIRATE. 


49 


second  mistake  was  in  the  contract  made  witli  the  crew. 
Kidd  agreed  to  furnish  about  one  hundred  men,  who  were  to 
receive  one-fourth  the  value  of  all  captures,  but  who  were  to 
be  enlisted  with  the  distinct  stipulation,  "  no  prize,  no  pay." 
While  it  was  certain  that  these  terms  would  secure  a  crew,  it 
was  also  certain  that  few  besides  the  most  daring  and  fool- 
hardy would  be  induced  to  embark.  The  result  was  that  his 
crew  was  made  up  of  the  most  suspicious  class,  many  of 
whom  had  probably  been  pirates  themselves,  and  hence  open 
to  the  most  violent  temptations  when  afloat  on  a  foreign  sea. 

A  commission  bearing  the  great  seal  of  England  was  is- 
sued December  11, 1696,  and  the  following  April  Kidd  set  sail 
for  New  York  in  the  "  Adventure  Galley,"  a  fine  ship  with 
sixty  sailors,  which  had  been  fitted  out  for  the  expedition.  Here 
he  visited  his  wife,  and  cruised  for  some  time  around  the 
coast,  capturing  a  French  privateer,  for  which  he  received 
the  thanks  of  the  Assembly  of  New  York,  and  two  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds  as  a  complimentary  reward  for  his  fidelity. 
While  here  he  continued  to  recruit  his  force  until  it  ex- 
ceeded one  hundred  and  sixty  men,  after  which  he  sailed  for 
the  East  Indies  and  the  eastern  coast  of  Africa.  Up  to  this 
point  his  fame  continued  unsullied,  and  by  what  process  the 
change  in  his  career  was  produced  is  not  certainly  known, 
lie  afterwards  protested  that,  failing  in  the  pursuit  of  the  pi- 
rates, his  crew  became  mutinous  and  forced  him,  contrary  to 
his  will,  into  his  career  of  infamy.  It  is  more  probable  that, 
finding  himself  in  possession  of  a  strong  ship  completely 
armed,  with  a  large  and  well-selected  crew  obsequious  to  his 
wishes,  the  temptation  to  prey  upon  the  wreak  instead  of  en- 
countering the  strong  overcame  him,  and  he  thus  became  one 
of  the  most  intrepid  and  successful  pirates  that  ever  hoisted 
the  black  flag  on  the  seas.  Upon  the  commerce  clustering 
along  the  coasts  of  Malabar  and  Madagascar,  he  conducted  a 
career  of  outrage  and  plunder,  by  which  in  a  short  time  he 
amassed  countless  treasure,  and  inflicted  such  destruction  as 
to  render  his  name  a  terror  on  the  seas,  and  a  theme  for  every 
4 


50 


NEW  YOEK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


future  historian.  Satisfied  finally  with  his  accumulations,  he 
resolved  to  return.  To  avoid  detection  he  exchanged  his  ves- 
sel, with  a  large  portion  of  his  crew,  for  a  frigate  he  had  cap- 
tured, and  in  1698  brought  his  vessel  into  Long  Island  Sound, 
and  on  Gardiner's  Island  buried  a  large  amount  of  treasure 
in  the  presence  of  the  proprietor  of  the  estate,  whom  he  laid 
under  strict  injunctions  of  secresy.  He  next  repaired  to  Bos- 
ton under  an  assumed  name,  with  the  design,  it  is  believed, 
of  selling  the  frigate,  after  which  he  hoped  to  join  his  family 
and  spend  the  remainder  of  life  in  quiet  splendor.  Appre- 
hended in  the  streets  at  Boston,  he  was  arrested  by  order  of 
Governor  Bellarnont,  one  of  the  chief  promoters  of  the  enter- 
prise, who  had  heard  startling  rumors  concerning  him,  and 
had  been  anxiously  watching  for  his  return.  He  was  sent  to 
England  for  trial.  It  being  considered  difficult  to  substan- 
tiate the  charge  of  piracy,  he  was  arraigned  for  the  murder 
of  William  Moore,  one  of  his  crew,  whom  he  had  unfortu- 
nately killed  while  at  sea,  by  hitting  him  with  a  bucket  for 
insubordination.  After  an  unfair  trial  he  was  hanged  in 
chains  at  Execution  Dock,  May  12,  1701.  The  rope  broke 
and  he  ascended  the  scaffold  the  second  time.  Six  of  his  ac- 
complices were  executed  the  same  day.  Tradition  says  that 
after  the  capture  of  Kidd  his  crew  returned  with  the  vessel 
to  Gardiner's  Island,  where  they  ascertained  that  two  ships 
were  in  pursuit  for  their  capture.  In  an  attempt  to  escape 
they  ran  their  vessel  some  distance  up  the  Hudson  river, 
where  she  was  blown  up  and  sunk,  the  sailors  dispersing  on 
the  shore  with  such  treasure  as  they  could  bear  away. 

The  buried  treasure  on  Gardiner's  Island  was  taken  up  by 
a  commission  appointed  by  Governor  Bellarnont,  and  con- 
sisted, besides  considerable  rich  merchandise,  of  three  bags  of 
gold  dust,  two  bags  of  coined  silver,  one  bag  of  coined  gold, 
two  bags  of  golden  bars,  one  bag  of  silver  bars,  one  bag  of 
silver  rings,  one  bag  of  silver  buttons,  and  one  of  jewels  and 
precious  stones,  including  agates  and  amethysts.  The  treasure 
was  at  that  time  valued  at  about  two  hundred  thousand  dol- 


CAPTAIN  KIDD,  THE  NEW  YORK  PIRATE. 


51 


lars,  and  with  this  Kidd  doubtless  thought  it  would  not  be 
difficult  to  secure  his  release,  if  his  royal  commission,  which 
he  still  held,  proved  insufficient.  The  treasure  thus  obtained 
was  believed  to  be  but  a  fraction  of  his  accumulations,  and 
various  rumors  concerning  buried  riches  have  been  revived 
by  every  succeeding  generation  down  to  our  day.  Acres  of 
soil  have  been  dug  over  by  eager  gold  hunters.  A  pot  con- 
taining eighteen  hundred  dollars  in  money  ploughed  up  in  a 
corn-field  at  Martha's  Vineyard  over  twenty-five  years  ago, 
was  believed  by  some  to  be  a  part  of  Kidd's  money.  Several 
families  on  Long  Island  it  is  said  became  unaccountably  rich, 
and  were  believed  to  have  shared  in  his  accumulations, 
though  this  is  uncertain.  In  1844  an  excitement  was  occa- 
sioned by  the  discovery  of  a  sunken  vessel  near  Caldwell's 
Landing  on  the  Hudson  river,  supposed  to  be  the  one  sunken 
by  Kidd's  sailors.  A  stock  company  to  pursue  the  search 
was  hastily  formed,  sinking  the  fortunes  of  many  though  it 
brought  up  nothing  but  mud.  The  affairs  of  the  company, 
after  being  manipulated  by  designing  men,  were  wound  up 
with  litigation,  disclosing  great  deception,  and  the  false  im- 
prisonment of  an  honest  man,  who  had  been  unwarily  drawn 
into  the  association. 

Captain  Kidd  was  not  the  only  American  pirate.  His  roy- 
al instructions  named  "  Captains  Thos.  Too,  John  Ireland, 
Thomas  Wake,  Captain  Maze,  and  other  subjects,  natives  or 
inhabitants  of  New  York  and  elsewhere  in  America,  they 
being  Pirates  upon  the  American  seas,"  as  persons  to  be  pur- 
sued and  captured.  His  unusual  notoriety  arose  from  the 
facts  that  he  was  fitted  out  by  several  members  of  the  English 
nobility,  all  of  whom  were  tried  for  their  lives,  after  his  dis- 
grace, but  acquitted ;  from  the  valuable  treasures  discovered, 
and  the  summary  punishment  with  which  he  was  overtaken. 
His  career  forcibly  illustrates  the  facts  that  sin  brings  its  own 
punishment,  and  that  "  the  way  of  the  transgressor  is  hard? 

His  wife  and  daughter  continued  to  reside,  though  in  great 
retirement,  in  New  York  for  some  years  after  his  death  ;.  but 


52 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


as  he  left  no  sons,  it  cannot  be  supposed  that  any  of  the  ex- 
cellent families  bearing  the  name  are  his  descendants. 


RIP  VAN  DAM. 


flyv^XJRING  the  administration  of  the  five 
Wj§§]  colonial  governors,  immediately  suc- 
ceeding Lord  Eellamont,  and  reaching 
down  to  1731,  but  little  of  general  interest  to 
posterity  occurred,  save  their  occasional  mer- 
cenary usurpations,  and  an  unsuccessful  expe- 
dition fitted  out  at  great  expense  against  the 
French  in  Canada.  Upon  the  death  of  Governor 
Montgomerie,  which  occurred  July  1,  1731,  the 
chief  functions  of  government  devolved  upon  Kip 
Van  Dam,  the  oldest  member  of  the  council,  and 
ex  officio,  the  second  officer  in  the  government.  Van  Dam  was 
a  genuine  Holland  Dutchman,  his  father  having  settled  in 
the  city  during  the  reign  of  Governor  Stuyvesant.  He  had 
acquired  a  considerable  fortune  in  mercantile  pursuits,  and 
was  at  this  time  conducting  an  extensive  foreign  trade.  lie 
had  long  taken  an  active  interest  in  public  affairs,  was  famil- 
iar with  all  the  machinery  of  the  government,  and  as  he 
sought  the  good  of  the  people,  being  one  of  them,  they  were 
greatly  pleased  with  his  administration,  and  nothing  exciting 
occurred  during  the  thirteen  months  of  his  continuance  in 
office.  On  the  1st  day  of  August,  1732,  he  delivered  the 
seals  of  government  to  his  successor,  Colonel  William  Cosby, 
former  Governor  of  Minorca,  who  had  just  arrived  with  his 
royal  commission.  Cosby  was  despotic  and  avaricious,  and 
had  not  sustained  an  unblemished  character  in  his  former 
administration.  While  in  England  he  had,  however,  opposed 
an  obnoxious  sugar  bill,  likely  to  seriously  affect  the  colonists, 
which  gave  him  a  transient  popularity  on  his  arrival.  The 


KIP  VAN  DAM. 


53 


assembly  then  in  session  granted  him  a  revenue  for  six  years, 
and  a  present  of  five  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  for  the  service 
he  had  rendered  them  in  parliament.  Yan  Dam,  during  his 
administration,  had  performed  the  whole  service  of  govern- 
ment, and  had  accordingly  drawn  from  the  treasury  the  cus- 
tomary salary,  amounting  to  about  two  thousand  pounds.  The 
English  crown,  at  the  request  of  Cosby,  had,  however,  fur- 
nished him  with  an  order  requiring  Van  Dam  to  refund  half 
of  the  money  to  his  superior.  One  of  Cosby's  first  acts  was 
to  produce  this  order,  and  demand  immediate  payment  of  the 
money,  but  soon  found  that,  in  the  plucky  Dutchman,  he  had 
really  caught  a  tartar.  Yan  Dam  expressed  his  perfect  will- 
ingness to  divide  the  salary  of  two  thousand  pounds,  on  con- 
dition that  Cosby  should  also  divide  the  six  thousand  pounds 
he  had  received  as  perquisites,  since  his  appointment,  and 
previous  to  entering  upon  the  duties  of  his  office.  Cosby 
soon  brought  a  suit  against  Yan  Dam,  before  the  judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  as  barons  of  the  Exchequer,  functions  which 
their  commissions  allowed  them  to  exercise.  This  was  lit- 
erally taking  the  adjudication  in  his  own  hands,  as  the  gov- 
ernor was  ex  officio  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  and  two  of 
the  judges  were  among  his  most  intimate  friends.  Yan  Dam's 
counsel  excepted  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  court  in  the  case, 
and  demanded  that  the  case  be  tried  in  a  suit  at  common  law. 
The  validity  of  this  exception  was  supported  by  one  of  the 
judges,  but  overruled  by  the  other  two.  Yan  Dam's  cause 
was  thus  declared  lost,  and  he  was  compelled  to  refund  the 
money. 

But  the  people  declared  that  the  cause  should  not  rest  here. 
This  continued  contempt,  with  which  everything  of  colonial 
origin  was  viewed  and  treated  by  the  English  crown  and  min- 
istry, could  no  longer  be  silently  tolerated.  They  were  already 
growing  weary  of  rapacious,  tyrannical  Governors,  whose  sole 
object  was  to  repair  their  broken-down  fortunes  from  the  un- 
requited industry  of  their  subjects.  The  judge  who  had  sus- 
tained the  exceptions  of  Van  Dam's  counsel  was  hastily  re- 


54 


NEW  YORK  aND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


moved  from  office,  and  Van  Dam  suspended  from  the  coun- 
cil. This  arbitrary  procedure,  against  one  of  their  own  long- 
trusted  and  honored  citizens,  aroused  the  indignation  of  the 
populace,  whose  loud  murmurs  were  heard  in  all  parts,  of  the 
town. 


THE  TRIAL  AND  TRIUMPH  OF  LIBERTY. 


7  P  to  this  period,  but  one  newspaper  had 
been  published  in  New  York.  That 
was  The  New  York  Gazette,  by  Wil- 
liam Bradford,  started  in  October,  1725,  under 
government  patronage,  by  which  it  had  been 
continued  until  this  time.  Supported  by  gov- 
ernment, it  had,  however,  been  a  mere  sycophant, 
and  very  naturally  espoused  the  cause  of  Cosby  in 
this  controversy.  During  the  progress  of  this  trial, 
New  York  was  startled  with  the  issue  of  a  new  and 
independent  paper,  called  the  New  York  Weekly 
Journal,  and  published  by  Peter  Zenger.  This  enterprising 
little  sheet  thought  it  entirely  within  its  province  to  examine 
the  affairs  of  government,  scrutinize  and  advise  the  Governor, 
question  the  proceedings  of  the  Court  of  Exchequer,  discuss 
questions  agitating  the  assembhr,  and  present  its  own  showing 
of  the  grievances  of  the  colonies.  Week  after  week,  its  col- 
umns teemed  with  earnest,  spicy,  and  witty  articles,  in  which 
the  cause  of  Van  Dam  was  with  marked  ability  maintained, 
and  the  policy  of  the  Governor  arraigned.  Smarting  under 
the  scorn  of  the  people,  and  wounded  by  the  incessant  dis- 
charge of  these  paper  bullets,  the  Governor  resolved  to  take 
the  offensive.  The  columns  of  the  Gazette  had  boldly  stood 
in  his  defence;  but  these  were  not  sufficient:  opposition  must 
be  suppressed.  It  was  resolved  to  select  four  of  the  issues  of 
the  paper,  containing  the  most  obnoxious  articles,  which  were 
to  be  burned  by  the  common  hangman,  the  officers  of  the 


THE  TRIAL  AND  TRIUMPH  OF  LIBERTY. 


55 


city  and  the  populace  being  required  to  attend  the  ceremony. 
Scarcely  anybody  attended,  however;  which  convinced  the 
mortified  Governor  that  he  had  entered  this  paper  warfare  at 
his  own  charges.  But  one  thing  remained,  and  that  was  to 
crash  the  editor.  Zenger  was  accordingly  arrested  on  a  charge 
of  libel,  and  as  an  enormous  bail  was  exacted,  which  he  could 
not  procure,  he  was  thrown  into  jail,  and  denied  the  use  of 
pen,  ink,  or  paper.  Here  he  continued  more  than  eight 
months,  without,  for  a  single  week,  suspending  the  issue  of  his 
paper,  giving  direction  to  his  friends  through  a  chink  in  the 
door.  His  paper  lost  none  of  its  vitality  by  his  confinement. 
Its  ablest  articles  are  believed  to  have  been  written  by  Van 
Dam's  lawyers,  and  other  deposed  officials.  On  the  4th  of 
August,  1735,  Zenger  was  brought  out  of  his  cell  for  trial. 
Every  preparation,  it  was  believed,  had  been  made  by  the 
Governor  and  his  friends  to  secure  his  conviction.  There 
were  but  three  eminent  lawyers  in  New  York  at  that  time — 
William  Smith,  James  Alexander,  and  Mr.  Mumiy.  Smith 
and  Alexander,  having  been  employed  to  defend  the  prisoner, 
were  greatly  surprised  by  the  Governor,  who,  for  a  pretended 
offence,  ordered  their  names  to  be  stricken  from  the  list  of  at- 
torneys. It  now  looked  as  if  the  court  party  were  to  have 
things  all  their  own  way.  But  the  friends  of  Zenger  were  not 
to  be  thus  outwitted.  They  had  silently  engaged  the  services 
of  Andrew  Hamilton,  of  Philadelphia.  Hamilton,  though 
eighty  years  of  age,  had  not  greatly  declined  in  mind,  was  a 
man  of  warm  and  generous  impulses,  and  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  barristers  of  his  day.  A  more  able  or  dignified  ad- 
vocate could  scarcely  have  been  found  in  the  world,  and  his 
appearance  in  the  crowded  court-room,  just  as  the  case  was 
called,  almost  stunned  the  leaders  of  the  prosecution.  The 
case  was  tried  in  the  Supreme  Court,  with  a  jury  of  twelve  of 
the  citizens.  The  prosecution  produced  certain  statements 
printed  in  Zenger's  paper,  and  claimed  that  they  were  libelous, 
and  that  the  jury  were  required  to  render  a  verdict  of  guilty, 
when  satisfied  that  he  had  published  them.    Hamilton  admit- 


56 


NEW  YOKE  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


ted  their  publication,  and  proposed  to  introduce  the  full  evi- 
dence of  their  truthfulness.  To  this  the  attorney-general 
objected,  claiming  that  the  truth  of  a  libel  could  not  be  taken 
in  evidence,  and  that  a  libel  became  all  the  more  dangerous 
because  of  its  truthfulness.    The  fact  of  publication  having 


THE  KIPP  BAY  HOUSE,  AND  HOME  OF  MAJOR  ANDRE  DURING  HIS  TREASONABLE 
CORRESPONDENCE  WITH  ARNOLD. 


been  now  fully  admitted,  and  all  evidence  on  the  part  of  the 
defence  being  summarily  ruled  out  by  the  court,  nothing  re- 
mained but  for  the  counsel  to  sum  up  the  case  for  their  re- 
spective clients.  Hamilton  proceeded  in  a  bland  and  eloquent 
manner  to  state  the  case,  after  which  he  labored  to  impress 
upon  the  jury  that  they  were  to  be  judges  of  the  law,  as  well 
as  of  the  facts  in  the  case,  and  that  they  were  not  to  be  tram- 
melled by  the  interpretation  of  the  court.  Hamilton's  address 
was  so  ingenious  and  pertinent  that  we  cannot  forbear  intro- 
ducing a  few  extracts  from  it. 

"  If,"  said  he,  "  a  libel  is  understood  in  the  large  and  un- 


THE  TRIAL  AND  TRIUMPH  OF  LIBERTY. 


57 


limited  sense  urged  by  Mr.  Attorney,  there  is  scarce  a  writing 
I  know  of  that  may  not  be  called  a  libel,  or  scarce  any  per- 
son safe  from  being  called  to  account  as  a  libeller;  for 
Moses,  meek  as  he  was,  libelled  Cain,  and  who  is  it  that  has 
not  libelled  the  devil ;  for,  according  to  Mr.  Attorney,  it  is  no 
justification  to  say  that  one  has  a  bad  name.    Echard  has 


OLD  CITY  HALL  IN  WALL  STREET. 

libelled  our  good  King  William.  Burnet  has  libelled,  among 
others,  King  Charles  and  King  James,  and  Rapin  has  libelled 
them  all.  How  must  a  man  speak  or  write,  or  what  must  he 
hear,  read,  or  sing,  or  when  must  he  laugh,  so  as  to  be  secure 
from  being  taken  up  as  a  libeller.  I  sincerely  believe  that 
were  some  persons  to  go  through  the  streets  of  New  York 
nowadays  and  read  a  part  of  the  Bible,  if  it  were  not 
known  to  be  such,  Mr.  Attorney,  with  the  help  of  his  innuen- 
does, would  easily  turn  it  to  be  a  libel.  As,  for  instance,  the 
sixteenth  verse  of  the  ninth  chapter  of  Isaiah  :  '  The  leaders 
of  this  people  [innuendo,  the  Governor  and  Council  of  New 
York]  cause  them  [innuendo,  the  people  of  this  province]  to 
err ;  and  they  [meaning  the  people  of  this  province]  are  de- 
stroyed '  [innuendo,  are  deceived  into  the  loss  of  liberty,  which 


58 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


is  the  worst  kind  of  destruction].  Or,  if  some  person  should 
publicly  repeat,  in  a  manner  not  pleasing  to  his  betters,  the 
tenth  and  eleventh  verses  of  the  fifty-sixth  chapter  of  the 
same  book,  then  Mr.  Attorney  would  have  a  large  field  to 
display  his  skill  in  the  artful  application  of  innuendoes.  The 
words  are  :  '  His  watchmen  are  blind  ;  they  are  all  ignorant ; 
yea,  they  are  greedy  dogs,  which  can  never  have  enough.'  But 
to  make  them  a  libel,  no  more  is  wanting  than  the  aid  of  his 
skill  in  the  right  adapting  of  his  innuendoes.  As  for  instance, 
'  His  watchmen  [innuendo,  the  Governor,  Council  and  Assem- 
bly] are  blind ;  they  are  ignorant  [innuendo,  will  not  see  the 
dangerous  designs  of  his  excellency]  ;  yea,  they  [meaning  the 
Governor  and  his  Council]  are  greedy  dogs,  which  can  never 
have  enough  [innuendo,  of  riches  and  power.]  ' " 

He  then  proceeded  to  show  that  these  illustrations  were 
perfectly  in  keeping  with  the  case  under  trial,  and  urged  the 
jury  to  decide  for  themselves  concerning  the  truth  or  false- 
hood of  Zenger's  articles,  after  which  he  concluded  as  fol- 
lows: "You  see  I  labor  under  the  weight  of  many  years, 
and  am  borne  down  by  many  infirmities  of  body ;  yet,  old 
and  weak  as  I  am,  I  should  think  it  my  duty,  if  required,  to 
go  to  the  utmost  part  of  the  land,  where  my  service  could  be 
of  any  use  in  assisting  to  quench  the  flame  of  persecution 
upon  information  set  on  foot  by  the  government  to  deprive 
a  people  of  the  right  of  remonstrating  (and  complaining  too) 
against  the  arbitrary  attempts  of  men  in  power — men  who 
injure  and  oppress  the  people  under  their  administration, 
provoking  them  to  cry  out  and  complain,  and  then  make  that 
very  complaint  the  foundation  for  new  oppressions  and  per- 
secutions. I  wish  I  could  say  there  were  no  instances  of  this 
kind.  But  to  conclude,  the  question  before  the  Court  and 
you,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  is  not  a  small  or  private  concern; 
it  is  not  the  cause  of  a  poor  printer,  nor  of  New  York  alone, 
which  you  are  now  trying.  No !  it  may,  in  its  consequences, 
affect  every  freeman  that  lives  under  the  British  Govern- 
ment upon  the  main  of  America.    It  is  the  best  of  causes ; 


THE  TRIAL  AND  TRIUMPH  OF  LIBERTY. 


59 


it  is  the  cause  of  liberty;  and  I  make  no  doubt  but  your 
upright  conduct  this  day  will  not  only  entitle  you  to  the  love 
and  esteem  of  your  fellow  citizens,  but  every  man  who 
prefers  freedom  to  a  life  of  slavery  will  bless  and  honor  you 
as  men  who  have  baffled  the  attempts  of  tyranny,  and,  by  an 
impartial  and  incorrupt  verdict,  have  laid  a  noble  foundation 
for  securing  to  ourselves,  our  posterity,  and  our  neighbors, 
that  to  which  nature  and  the  laws  of  our  country  have  given 
us  a  right — the  liberty  of  both  exposing  and  opposing  arbi- 
trary power,  in  these  parts  of  the  world,  at  least  by  speaking 
and  writing  the  truth." 

The  venerable  barrister  closed  amid  a  general  outburst  of 
satisfaction  and  applause,  and  the  attorney -general  offered  but 
a  weak  response.  The  jury  were  charged  that  they  were 
judges  of  the  fact,  but  not  of  the  law,  and  that  the  truth  of 
the  libel  should  not  enter  into  their  deliberations.  After  a 
few  minutes'  absence,  the  jury  returned  a  unanimous  verdict 
of  "not  guilty"  The  anxiety  of  the  assembled  populace 
being  thus  happily  dismissed,  their  joy  burst  forth  in  loud 
and  continued  cheers,  which  rent  the  air,  carrying  everything 
before  them.  Hamilton  was  seized  by  glad  hands,  and  borne 
from  the  court-room  on  the  shoulders  of  the  people.  On  the 
following  day  a  public  dinner  was  given  him  by  the  inhabi- 
tants, and  the  freedom  of  the  city  was  presented  to  him  in 
a  magnificent  gold  box,  and  when  he  set  sail  for  Philadelphia 
it  was  amid  the  roar  of  cannon.  The  spirit  of  independence 
brought  out  so  emphatically  in  '76  had  already  begun  to 
work  in  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  Hamilton's  earnest 
utterances  fell  upon  their  hearts  like  sparks  in  a  magazine. 
Whether  this  triumphant  defeat  of  the  Governor  affected  his 
health  or  not,  we  cannot  tell,  but  he  was  shortly  afterwards 
reported  sick,  and  expired  on  the  7th  of  March,  1736.  This 
great  and  decisive  battle  for  the  liberty  of  the  press,  so  ably 
contested  in  the  face  of  such  frightful  dangers,  has  had  its 
influence  on  the  government  and  inhabitants  of  Manhattan 
to  the  present  day,  and  we  cannot  tell  how  deeply  we  are 


60 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


indebted  to  the  burning  appeals  of  that  brilliant  orator,  and 
the  fearless  decision  of  that  faithful  jury. 


THE  NEGRO  PLOT  OF  1741. 


?^5?»OPULAE  panics  rank  among  the  most 
/j'l&Sy  fatal  disasters  that  can  overtake  a  peo- 
k\\'^  pie.  The  frenzy  of  wild  and  excited 
masses  in  a  populous  city,  like  the  com- 
bustion of  vast  stores  of  inflammable 
material,  is  truly  frightful.  In  such 
periods  neither  age,  nor  rank,  nor  sex, 
nor  condition,  can  be  said  to  afford  any 
pledge  of  permanent  security.  Among  others,  the  celebrated 
Popish  Plot  concocted  by  Titus  Gates  of  England,  and  the 
no  less  singular  Witchcraft  delusion  of  New  England,  may 
be  mentioned  as  examples.  The  New  York  negro  plot  of 
1741  may  be  ranked  with  the  preceding,  and  deserves  a  pass- 
ing notice  in  this  chapter  on  colonial  history.  The  lapse  of 
the  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  which  have  since  intervened 
has  thrown  so  dense  a  haze  over  the  period  that  nothing  can 
be  certainly  known  concerning  it,  save  what  has  been  trans- 
mitted to  us  by  successive  historians.  It  is  impossible  for  us 
to  determine  how  many  grains  of  truth  found  place  in  that 
storm  of  prejudice  and  passion,  which  resulted  in  the  heartless 
slaughter  of  a  multitude  of  ignorant  and  defenceless  beings. 
The  population  of  New  York  at  that  time  amounted  to  about 
ten  thousand,  nearly  two  thousand  of  whom  were  colored 
slaves.  Having  grown  up  in  ignorance  and  moral  neglect, 
they  were  considerably  addicted  to  pilfering  and  other  vices, 
and  often  caused  their  masters  considerable  anxiety.  The 
most  stringent  measures  were  adopted  to  prevent  their  as- 
sembling together;  yet,  as  in  all  slave  communities,  a  latent 


THE  NEGRO  PLOT  OF  1741. 


61 


fear  filled  the  minds  of  the  whites,  which  every  now  and 
then  burst  forth  into  a  matter  of  public  alarm.  Some  time 
in  the  winter  of  1740-41,  a  Spanish  vessel,  manned  in  part 
with  black  sailors,  was  brought  into  the  harbor  as  a  prize,  and 
the  negroes  sold  at  auction,  having  previously  enjoyed  their 
freedom,  and  not  relishing  their  changed  relations,  it  was  but 
natural  that  some  complaints  and  threats  should  fall  from 
their  lips  which  were  not  particularly  heeded  at  the  time. 

On  the  18th  of  March,  1741,  the  Governor's  house  in  the  fort 
was  discovered  to  be  on  fire,  and  despite  the  efforts  to  save  it 
the  flames  continued  to  rage  until  the  building,  the  King's 
chapel,  the  Secretary's  office,  the  barracks,  and  stables,  were 
wholly  consumed.  The  Governor,  in  reporting  the  matter  to 
the  Assembly,  declared  that  a  plumber  had  left  fire  in  the 
gutter  between  the  house  and  the  chapel,  and  that  from  this 
circumstance  the  accident  had  probably  occurred.  Some 
days  later  the  chimney  of  Captain  Warren's  house,  situated 
near  the  fort,  took  fire,  but  no  damage  occurred.  After  a  few 
days  a  fire  broke  out  in  the  storehouse  of  one  Yan  Zandt, 
and  was  said  to  have  resulted  from  the  carelessness  of  a 
smoker.  Three  days  later  a  cow  stable  was  discovered  to  be 
on  fire,  but  this  was  soon  extinguished  ;  and  the  same  day  the 
house  of  Mr.  Thompson  was  found  on  fire,  the  fire  having 
begun  in  the  chamber  where  a  negro  slave  slept.  Coals  were 
discovered  the  next  day  under  John  Murray's  stable  on  Broad- 
way. On  the  day  following  two  more  fires  occurred,  one  in 
the  house  of  a  sergeant  near  the  fort,  and  the  other  on  the 
roof  of  a  house  near  the  Fly  Market,  both  of  which  were  ex- 
tinguished with  slight  damage.  It  now  came  to  be  believed 
that  these  fires  were  the  work  of  incendiaries,  and  who  the 
guilty  parties  were  became  a  matter  of  earnest  inquiry. 
Some  wise  head  conceived  that  these  Spanish  slaves  had 
undertaken  to  destroy  the  city,  while  others  believed  the 
whole  colored  population  of  the  island  had  conspired  to  burn 
the  city  and  massacre  the  whites.  One  of  the  Spanish  ne- 
groes, living  near  where  a  fire  had  occurred,  on  being  ques- 


♦ 


62 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  rNSTHUTIONS. 


f 


tioned,  was  considered  a  suspicious  character ;  the  demand 
for  the  arrest  of  the  Spanish  negroes  became  general,  and 
they  were  accordingly  thrown  in^o  prison.  Another  fire  oc- 
curring during  the  afternoon,  while  the  magistrates  were  in 
consultation,  the  panic  became  so  general  that  negroes  of  all 
ages  were  arrested  by  the  wholesale  and  thrown  into  close 
confinement.  Search  was  now  instituted  for  strangers,  but 
as  none  were  found  many  families  concluded  to  escape  from 
this  threatened  Sodom  before  it  was  consumed.  The 
stampede  to  the  suburbs  and  regions  round  about  became 
general,  and  every  available  vehicle  was  drafted  into  service. 
On  the  eleventh  of  April  the  Assembly  offered  a  reward  of 
one  hundred  pounds  and  full  pardon,  to  any  one  who  would 
turn  State's  evidence  and  make  known  the  plot  and  the  names 
of  the  conspirators.  This  was  far  too  tempting  a  bait  for  a 
class  of  terrified,  ignorant  negroes,  who  saw  nothing  but  the 
dungeon  and  a  frightful  death  before  them,  unless  by  some 
revelation  they  were  to  regain  their  liberty,  and  such  wealth 
as  they  had  never  aspired  to.  For  the  investigation  of  the 
case  the  Supreme  Court  convened  on  the  21st  of  April, 
Judges  Philipse  and  Horsmanden  presiding.  Robert  "Watts 
was  foreman  of  the  grand  jury.  It  soon  became  evident  that 
the  liberal  reward  offered  ten  days  previously  was  destined 
to  be  fruitful  in  results.  Those  days  and  nights  had  been 
spent  by  the  wretched  prisoners  in  gloomy  meditation,  and 
nearly  every  one  was  ready  to  make  disclosures.  Among  the 
first  examined  was  Mary  Burton,  a  colored  servant  girl  inden- 
tured to  John  Hughson,  keeper  of  a  squalid  negro  tavern  on 
the  west  side  of  the  island.  Mary  testified  that  Caesar  Varick, 
Prince  Amboyman,  and  Cuff  Philipse'x'  had  been  in  the  habit 
of  meeting  at  the  house  of  Hughson,  talking  about  burning 
the  fort,  the  city,  and  murdering  the  people,  and  that  Hugh- 
son  and  his  wife  had  promised  to  help  them,  after  which 
Hughson  was  to  be  the  governor  and  Cuff  king.  She  stated 
that  no  whites  had  been  present  at  these  times  except  her 


•  Slaves  then  bore  the  surname  of  their  masters  invariably. 


THE  NEGEO  PLOT  OF  1741. 


63 


master  and  mistress,  and  Peggy  Carey,  an  abandoned  Irish 
woman  living  at  Hughson's.  Peggy  was  next  brought  before 
the  court  and  promised  pardon  on  condition  of  general  con- 
fession. She,  however,  denied  all  knowledge  of  any  con- 
spiracy, or  of  the  origin  of  any  of  the  fires,  and  said  that  to 
accuse  any  one  would  be  to  slander  innocent  persons  and 
blacken  her  own  soul.  The  law  at  that  time  was  that  no 
slave  could  testify  in  a  court  of  justice  against  a  white  person. 
Yet  Mary  Burton,  a  colored  slave,  here  testified  to  matters 
implicating  Peggy  Carey,  a  white  woman,  which  she,  Peggy, 
emphatically  denied.  But  the  city  had  gone  mad,  and  Mary 
Burton,  who  a  month  previous  would  have  been  spurned  from 
a  court-room,  had  suddenly  become  an  oracle,  and  on  her  tes- 
timony poor  Peggy  and  the  negroes  named  were  found  guilty 
and  sentenced  to  be  executed.  Death  now  staring  Peggy  in 
the  face,  she  became  greatly  alarmed,  and  begged  for  a  second 
examination,  which  was  readily  granted.  She  now  testified 
that  she  had  attended  a  meeting  of  negroes  held  at  a  wretched 
house  near  the  battery  kept  by  John  Romme,  and  that 
Romme  had  promised  to  carry  them  all  to  a  new  country 
and  give  them  their  liberty,  on  condition  that  they  should 
burn  the  city,  massacre  the  whites,  and  bring  him  the  plun- 
der. This  ridiculous  twaddle,  evidently  fabricated  for  the 
occasion,  was  received  as  proof  positive,  and  the  persons 
named  (except  Romme,  who  fled  for  life,  though  his  wife  was 
arrested)  were  severally  brought  before  her  for  identifica- 
tion. The  work  of  public  slaughter  began  on  the  eleventh  of 
May,  when  Caesar  and  Prince  were  hanged,  denying  all  knowl- 
edge of  any  conspiracy  to  the  last.  Hughson  and  his  wife 
having  been  found  guilty,  were  shortly  after  hanged,  in  con- 
nection with  Peggy,  who  had  been  promised  pardon  for  her 
pretended  confession,  every  word  of  which  she  solemnly  re- 
tracted with  her  dying  breath.  We  will  not  follow  the 
details  of  this  strange  investigation  further.  Suffice  it  to  say 
that,  finding  confession  or  some  new  disclosure  the  only  loop- 
hole through  which  to  escape,  nearly  every  prisoner  prepared 


64 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


a  story  which  availed  him  nothing  in  the  end.  Every  attor- 
ney volunteered  to  aid  the  prosecution,  and  thus  left  the  ter- 
rified slaves,  without  counsel  or  friend,  to  utter  their  incoher- 
ent and  contradictory  statements  and  die.  From  the  11th  of 
May  to  the  29th  of  August,  one  hundred  and  fifty-four  ne- 
groes were  committed  to  prison,  fourteen  of  whom  were 
burned  at  the  stake,  eighteen  hanged,  seventy-one  trans- 
ported, and  the  remainder  pardoned  or  discharged.  The  loqua- 
cious Mary  Burton  continued  the  heroine  of  the  times,  depos- 
ing to  all  she  knew  at  the  first  examination,  but  able  to 
bring  from  her  capacious  memory  new  and  wonderful  revela- 
tions at  nearly  every  sitting  of  the  court.  At  first  she  de- 
clared that  no  white  person,  save  Hughson,  his  wife,  and 
Peggy,  was  present  at  the  meeting  of  the  conspirators ;  but  at 
length  remembered  that  John  Ury,  a  supposed  Catholic  priest 
and  schoolmaster  in  the  city,  had  also  been  implicated.  He 
was  at  once  arrested,  and  on  the  29th  of  August  hanged. 
The  panic  now  spread  among  the  whites,  twenty-four  of 
whom  being  implicated  were  hurled  into  prison,  and  four  of 
them  finally  executed.  Personal  safety  appeared  now  at  an 
end ;  everybody  feared  his  neighbor  and  his  friend,  and  the 
Reign  of  Terror  attending  the  Salem  Witchcraft  was  scarcely 
more  appalling.  We  cannot  conceive  how  far  this  matter 
would  have  extended  if  the  incomprehensible  Mary  Burton 
had  not,  inflated  with  former  success,  begun  to  criminate 
many  persons  of  high  social  standing  in  the  city.  While  the 
blacks  only  were  in  danger,  these  persons  had  added  constant 
fuel  to  the  fire;  but  finding  the  matter  coming  home,  they 
concluded  it  was  now  time  to  close  the  proceedings.  The 
further  investigation  of  the  case  was  postponed,  and  so  the 
matter  ended.  That  some  of  the  fires  were  the  work  of  in- 
cendiaries (perhaps  colored)  there  appears  to  us  but  little 
doubt ;  but  that  any  general  conspiracy  existed  is  not  proba- 
ble. The  silly  story  that  a  white  inn-keeper  should  conspire 
with  a  few  negroes  to  massacre  eight  thousand  of  his  own 
race,  that  he  might  occupy  a  subordinate  position  under  an 


TRIUMPH  OF  THE  ANGLO-SAXON. 


65 


ignorant  colored  king,  is  simply  ridiculous ;  yet  for  this  he 
and  his  wife  were  hanged.  The  trials  and  executions  were  a 
frightful  outrage  of  justice  and  humanity,  presenting  a  mel- 
ancholy example  of  the  weakness  of  human  nature,  and  the 
ease  with  which  the  strongest  minds  are  borne  down  in  peri- 
ods of  popular  delusion. 


TRIUMPH  OF  THE  ANGLO-SAXON. 


(SSjCpJHE  scheme  of  kingcraft  to  make  the 
authorities  independent  of  the  people, 
by  securing  a  permanent  revenue,  was 
again  and  again  introduced  by  the  Colonial 
Governors,  but  as  often  resisted  by  the  Assem- 
bly. Sir  George  Clinton,  having  alienated  the 
people  by  his  unfortunate  administration,  was  su- 
perseded in  1753  by  Sir  Danvers  Osborne,  who 
had  received  royal  instruction  to  insist  on  a  per- 
manent revenue.  This  being  emphatically  re- 
sisted, the  dispirited  Governor,  who  had  just 
buried  his  wife,  seeing  nothing  but  trouble  and  failure  in  the 
future,  terminated  his  existence  by  hanging  himself  with  a 
handkerchief  from  the  garden  wall  of  John  Murray's  house 
in  Broadway.  He  was  succeeded  by  Lieutenant-Governor 
James  Delancey,  whose  accession  was  hailed  with  delight. 
It  was  under  his  administration  that  Kings  (now  Columbia) 
College  was  founded,  the  charter  being  signed  by  Delancey, 
October  31,  1754.  The  same  year  the  scheme  for  a  public 
library  was  projected,  and  the  Walton  House,  long  the 
palace  of  the  city,  erected.  This  building,  erected  by  William 
Walton,  a  son-in-law  of  Delancey,  was  four  stories  high, 
built  of  yellow  Holland  brick,  with  five  windows  in  front, 
and  a  tiled  roof  encircled  with  balustrades.  This  edifice, 
5 


66 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


-  which  would  attract  no  unusual  attention  now  in  a  country 
village,  was  then  considered  the  wonder  of  America,  and  had 
a  wide  European  fame.  It  is  still  standing  on  Pearl  street, 
and  contrasts  sadly  with  the  magnificent  iron-fronted  busi- 
ness palace  of  the  Harpers,  now  nearly  opposite.  The  city 
was  now  being  enlarged ;  new  streets  were  laid  out  and  con- 
structed, and  piers  and  ferries  established.  But  the  most 
exciting  topic  of  this  period  was  the  war  with  France,  which 
resulted  finally  in  the  conquest  of  Canada.  The  establish- 
ment of  French  and  English  colonies  on  this  continent  re- 
sulted in  incessant  friction  between  these  rival  powers,  and 
led  ultimately  to  a  gigantic  struggle  between  the  two  most 
warlike  nations  of  the  world.  The  English,  having  planted 
themselves  on  the  Eastern  seaboard,  advanced  westward, 
claiming  all  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  oceans, 
while  the  French,  possessing  Canada  in  the  north,  and  the 
mouth  of  the  Mississippi  in  the  south,  claimed  all  lying  be- 
tween. These  incessantly  interfering  claims  for  rich  terri- 
tory, which  neither  owned,  led  to  numerous  bloody  wars, 
extending  in  their  influence  from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the 
Ganges,  for  the  possession  of  a  country  which,  twenty  years  - 
after  the  cessation  of  these  struggles,  passed  from  under  the 
control  of  both.  The  peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  in  1748, 
closed  the  third  colonial  war,  which  had  been  prosecuted  with 
great  vigor,  and  which  had  resulted  in  the  capture  of  Louis- 
burg  by  the  English  arms.  By  the  treaty,  however,  this 
captured  territory  was  restored  to  France,  leaving  things 
again  in  statu  quo,  and  ready  for  new  hostilities.  In  1749, 
George  II.  chartered  the  Ohio  Company,  granting  six  hun- 
dred thousand  acres  of  land,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Ohio  river, 
to  certain  persons  of  Westminster,  London,  and  Virginia, 
thus  paving  the  way  for  new  national  troubles.  It  was 
in  1753,  to  avoid  an  open  rupture  which  was  rapidly  approach- 
ing, that  a  young  man  of  Virginia,  destined  to  be  heard  from 
(George  Washington),  volunteered  to  carry  a  letter  of  ineffec- 
tual remonstrance,  several  hundred  miles  through  a  dangerous 


TRIUMPH  OF  THE  ANGLO-SAXON. 


67 


country,  to  the  French  commander.  In  1755  three  expedi- 
tions were  fitted  out  against  Canada — one  under  General 
Braddoek,  to  dislodge  the  French  from  Fort  Duquesne ;  one 
under  General  Shirley, 
for  the  reduction  of 
Niagara ;  and  one  un- 
der William  Johnson,  a 
member  of  the  Council 
of  New  York,  against 
Crown  Point.  All  three 
signally  failed,  though 
Johnson,  gaining  a 
slight  advantage  over 
the  French,  wounding 
and  capturing  their  com- 
mander, magnified  it  in- 
to a  victory,  for  which 
he  was  rewarded  by 
the  English  Govern 
ment  with  £5,000  and 
the  title  of  baronet. 

The  preparations  of  1756  were  more  extensive  than  in 
the  preceding  year,  the  Governors  of  Connecticut,  New 
York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Maryland  uniting  in  the  campaigns, 
and  pledging  nineteen  thousand  American  troops.  This 
year  closed  also  with  the  success  of  the  French  arms.  Prep- 
arations for  war  were  renewed  in  1757,  on  a  greatly 
enlarged  scale.  Four  thousand  troops  were  pledged  from 
New  England  alone,  and  a  large  English  fleet  came  over  to 
take  part  in  the  struggle.  Yet  this  year  ended  again  in 
disaster,  with  a  loss  to  the  English  of  Fort  Henry  and  three 
thousand  captured  troops.  The  affairs  of  the  English  colo- 
nists had  now  become  very  alarming,  filling  New  York  and  the 
whole  country  with  intense  anxiety.  The  English  colonists 
outnumbered  the  French  by  nearly  twenty  to  one ;  yet,  as 
they  were  divided  in  counsel,  their  expeditions  had  either 


WASHINGTON  AT  THE  AGE  OF  FORTY. 


68 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


been  overtaken  with  disaster,  or  beaten  by  the  French,  who, 
united  under  a  single  military  Governor,  had  so  wielded 
their  forces,  and  attracted  to  their  ranks  the  Indians,  as  to 
have  spread  general  disaster  along  the  whole  frontier. 

It  was  in  this  critical  exigency  that  William  Pitt,  Earl  of 
Chatham,  was  called  to  the  helm  of  State,  and  so  rapid  were 
his  movements,  and  comprehensive  his  plans,  that  the  three 
years  of  disaster  were  followed  by  three  of  brilliant  victory, 
culminating  in  the  reduction  of  Louisburg,  Frontenac,  Crown 
Point,  Ticonderoga,  Niagara,  and  Quebec,  thus  obliterating 
forever,  after  a  doubtful  struggle  of  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
six  years,  the  French  dominion  from  the  country.  The 
triumphant  conclusion  of  this  long  and  anxious  struggle  was 
the  occasion  of  great  and  universal  rejoicing  in  New  York. 
The  merchants  had  long  looked  for  the  enlargement  of  their 
commerce,  and  the  citizens  for  the  expansion  of  the  city. 


TROUBLOUS  TIMES  APPROACHING. 


HE  year  1760,  which  so  honorably 
[1  closed  the  war,  was  also  marked  by 
the  death  of  Lieutenant  Governor 
Delancey,  who  was  succeeded  by  Cad- 
wallader  D.  Golden,  a  zealous  royalist,  who 
continued  in  power  five  years.  It  was 
during  this  term  that  the  noted  Stamp 
Act  was  passed,  which  rendered  his  ad- 
ministration a  very  stormy  and  unpleasant 
one.  The  news  of  the  passage  of  this  Act  was  followed  in 
New  York  by  the  issue  of  a  new  paper  called  the  "Constitu- 
tional Courant,"  which  first  appeared  in  September,  1765,  by 
the  placarding  of  the  streets  with  "The  Folly  of  England, 
and  the  Ruin  of  America;"  by  the  organization  of  the 


TROUBLOUS  TIMES  APPROACHING. 


69 


"  Sons  of  Liberty,"  and  the  appointment  of  a  "  Committee  of 
Correspondence, "  to  secure  unanimity  of  action  among  all 
the  merchants  of  the  country  in  resisting  the  aggressions  of 
England. 


THE  OLD  BRIDEWELL. 


While  there  existed  in  the  nature  of  the  case  many  reasons 
why  these  colonies  should  eventually  rise  to  independency, 
it  is  also  certain  that  proper  treatment  on  the  part  of  the 
mother  country  would  have  long  delayed  such  an  event. 
The  colonists  had  no  desire  to  sever  their  connection  with  the 
home  government;  indeed,  they  long  clung  to  its  usages  and 
authority.  In  the  bloody  campaigns  against  the  French  they 
had  sacrificed  the  lives  of  thirty  thousand  of  their  sons,  and 
burdened  themselves  with  a  debt  of  thirteen  million  pounds, 
sterling.  An  honorable  acknowledgment  of  their  undoubted 
interests  and  rights  would  have  permanently  cemented  them 
to  the  English  crown  :  but  these  were  persistently  denied. 
The  colonists  were  regarded  as  greatly  inferior  to  the  people 
of  England.  Pitt,  the  friend  of  America,  once  said  in  Par- 
liament, "  There  is  not  a  company  of  foot  that  has  served  in 


70  NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 

America  out  of  which  you  may  not  pick  a  man  of  sufficient 
knowledge  and  experience  to  make  a  governor  of  a  colony 
there."  This  underrating  of  the  American  intellect  led  to  the 
appointment  of  weak  and  tyrannical  Governors,  which  yielded 
at  length  its  legitimate  fruit.  The  colonists  resisted  taxation 
because  they  were  not  represented  in  the  English  Parliament ; 
but  the  matter  of  taxation  was  not  so  grievous  as  the  whole- 
sale suppression  of  manufacture.  America  abounded  with 
iron ;  but  no  axe,  hammer,  saw,  or  other  tool,  could  be  manu- 
factured here  without  violating  the  crown  law.  Its  rivers 
and  marshes  teemed  with  beaver,  but  no  hatter  was  allowed  to 
employ  over  two  apprentices,  and  no  hat  of  American  manu- 
facture could  be  carried  for  sale  from  one  colony  to  another. 
No  wool  could  be  manufactured  save  for  private  use,  and  the 
raw  material  could  not  be  transported  from  one  colony  to 
another.  Everything  must  be  sent  to  England  for  manu- 
facture, and  return  laden  with  heavy  duties.  The  colonists 
were  prohibited  from  opening  or  conducting  a  commerce 
with  any  but  the  English  nation,  and  every  article  of  export 
must  be  sent  in  an  English  ship. 

The  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act  was  followed  by  the  duty  on 
tea,  glass,  etc., — legislation  equally  obnoxious  to  the  colonies. 
The  British  naval  officers  were  petty  lords  of  the  American 
seas.  They  compelled  every  colonial  vessel  to  lower  its  sails 
as  it  passed,  fired  into  them  for  the  slightest  provocation, 
boarded  them  at  pleasure,  and  rudely  impressed  into  their 
service  sailors  who  were  never  allowed  to  return  to  their 
families.  These  things  could  but  yield  a  bloody  harvest. 
The  failure  of  the  Governors  to  secure  a  permanent  revenue 
was  followed  by  the  quartering  of  troops  in  New  York,  which 
the  populace  felt  was  another  scheme  for  the  destruction  of 
their  liberties.  The  citizens  of  New  York  were  first  to  resist 
these  aggressions.  It  was  here  that  the  Sons  of  Liberty  first 
organized,  and  raised  the  first  liberty  pole.  The  Manhattan 
merchants  were  first  to  cease  the  importation  of  English 
goods — a  contract  grossly  violated  by  other  merchants  in 


TROUBLOUS  TIMES  APPROACHING. 


71 


America,  but  rigorously  adhered  to  in  New  York,  to  the 
ruin  of  many  strong  houses.  Here  the  first  blood  was  shed 
in  behalf  of  liberty.  It  occurred  in  a  conflict  between  the 
citizens  and  the  English  soldiers,  January  20,  1770  (over 
five  years  before  the  battle  of  Lexington),  on  a  little  hill  near 
the  present  John  street.  It  was  in  relation  to  the  liberty 
pole,  and  long  known  as  the  battle  of  Golden  Hill.  New 
York  was  the  scene  of  the  greatest  suffering  during  the 
Revolution.  Early  captured  and  partly  burned,  it  lay  seven 
years  in  ruins  under  the  heel  of  the  conqueror,  who  had  here 
established  his  principal  headquarters,  and  monopolized  all 
its  churches,  public  buildings,  and  many  private  residences. 
Here  the  first  Federal  Congress  was  organized  in  1785,  the 
federal  constitution  adopted  in  1788,  and  President  Wash- 
ington inaugurated  in  1789.  First  to  espouse  the  cause  of 
independence  and  organize  defence,  though  its  commerce 
was  wholly  ruined,  and  its  inhabitants  lay  starving  and 
bleeding  through  perilous  years,  it  uttered  no  murmur  of 
complaint;  and  since  the  establishment  of  independence  its 
citizens  have  been  second  to  no  others  in  promoting  the  in- 
terests of  their  country  and  of  humanity. 


72 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


CHAPTER  III. 

IMPORTANT  INCIDENTS  OF  THE  REVOLUTION  AND 
LATER  HISTORY  OF  MANHATTAN. 

NEW  YORK    GOVERNMENT  AT    SEA — PLOT    TO   ASSASSINATE  WASHING- 
TON SHOCKING   BARBARITY    OF     ENGLISH     OFFICERS  HALE  AND 

ANDRE,  THE  TWO  SPIES  ARNOLD  IN  NEW  YORK  BRITISH  EVAC- 
UATION THE   BURR  AND   HAMILTON    TRAGEDY  OF    1804  ROBERT 

FULTON  AND  THE  "  CLERMONT  "  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS  OF  1825. 

NEW  YORK  GOVERNMENT  AT  SEA. 

ILLIAM  TRYON,  the  last  colonial 
Governor,  entered  New  York  July 
8,  1771-  He  occupied  the  house 
in  the  fort,  which  had  been  rebuilt 
after  the  excitement  attending  the 
negro  plot  subsided,  and  which  was 
now  again  destroyed  by  fire.  His 
family  (except  the  servant  girl,  who  was  burned  alive)  barely 
escaped  with  life,  a  daughter  leaping  from  a  window  of  the 
second  story.  As  revolution  was  brewing,  business  was  so 
generally  prostrated  that  no  public  improvements  were  made 
during  his  administration,  except  the  founding  of  the  New 
Y^ork  Hospital.  Tryon  having  returned  to  England,  the  gov- 
ernment again  devolved  upon  Cadwallader  D.  Colden  until 
his  return,  which  occurred  June  24,  1775.  The  next  day 
Washington  entered  New  York  on  his  way  to  Cambridge  to 
take  command  of  the  Provincial  army.  The  country  was 
now  fully  in  rebellion,  and  Tryon  found  his  bed  filled  with 
thorns.  The  idea  of  rocking  his  weary  frame  and  aching 
head  into  repose  on  the  billows  of  the  bay  appears  now  to 


PLOT  TO  ASSASSINATE  WASHINGTON. 


73 


have  been  suggested,  but  the  fact  that  rest  for  a  Crown  Gov- 
ernor could  only  be  found  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic 
was  not  yet  so  manifest.  He,  however,  continued  at  his  post, 
and  kept  up  a  semblance  of  authority  against  the  Provincial 
Congress,  until  the  latter  part  of  August,  when  he  removed 
his  headquarters  on  board  the  "  Asia,"  an  English  man-of-war, 
from  which  he  for  some  time  kept  up  a  communication  with 
his  friends  on  shore.  He  also  caused  the  principal  archives 
of  the  city  to  be  placed  on  board  the  ship  "  Duchess  of  Gor- 
don." These  were  carried  to  England,  but  again  returned  by 
royal  order  in  1781. 


PLOT  TO  ASSASSINATE  WASHINGTON. 


BOUT  the  24th  of  June,  1776,  a  most 
barbarous  plot  was  discovered  among 
the  tories  of  New 
York,  including  the 
Mayor  and  several  of 
General  Washington's 
guards.  The  plan  was, 
upon  the  approach  of 
the  British  troops,  to  murder  Washing- 
ton and  all  the  staff  officers,  blow  up 
the  magazines,  and  secure  the  passes  of  the  town. 
About  five  hundred  persons  were  engaged  in  the 
conspiracy,  and  the  Mayor  acknowledged  that  he 
had  paid  one  of  the  chief  conspirators  £140,  by 
order  of  Governor  Tryon.  One  of  the  soldiers  belonging  to 
Washington's  guards  being  convicted  was  executed  in  the 
Bowery,  in  the  presence  of  twenty  thousand  spectators. 
Severity  to  the  few  was  doubtless  mercy  to  the  many. 


74 


NEW  YOKE  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


SHOCKING  BARBARITY  OF  ENGLISH  OFFICERS. 

HE  condition  of  the  captured  soldiers 
of  the  Continental  army,  and  of 
many  of  the  inhabitants  of  New 
York,  during  the  Eevolutionary 
period,  presents  one  of  the  most 
melancholy  chapters  of  human  suf- 
fering in  the  history  of  the  world. 
The   several  churches  were  con- 
verted into  prisons,  hospitals,  mili- 
tary  depots,  and  riding  schools 
The  Bridewell,  in  its  half -finished 
condition,  the  new  jail,  sugar-houses,  and  various  prison-ships, 
were  filled  with  soldiers  and  political  prisoners  promiscuously 
huddled  together.    In  winter,  without  fire  or  blankets,  they 


OLD  PROVOST,  NEW  YOUK. 

perished  with  cold,  and  in  summer  they  suffocated  with  heat. 
In  the  burning  season  every  aperture  in  the  walls  was  crowded 
with  human  heads,  panting  for  a  breath  of  the  outside  world, 


SHOCKING  BAKBARITY  OF  ENGLISH  OFFICERS.  75 

while  the  ghastly  eye  turned  anxiously  from  the  misery  and 
death  within,  in  quest  of  a  green  leaf  or  a  friendly  counte- 
nance. Sick,  wounded,  and  healthy  lay  on  the  same  floor,  ren- 
dered putrid  with  filth,  and  vocal  with  the  sounds  of  human 
agony.  Jailers  and  guards  exhibited  a  love  of  cruelty  hor- 
rid beyond  expression,  and  many  are  said  to  have  been 
poisoned  by  these  fiendish  attendants  for  their  watches  and 
silver  buckles.  They  were  not  regarded  as  prisoners  of  war, 
but  as  pinioned  rebels,  to  be  starved  and  tortured  until  killed 
or  goaded  into  the  royal  army.  While  a  few  remonstrated 
against  these  shocking  inhumanities,  the  friends  of  the  minis- 
try cried  out,  "  Starvation,  Starvationto  the  Rebels  /  nothing 
but  starvation  will  bring  them  to  their  senses." 

The  old  sugar-house,  one  of  the  chief  dens  of  human  tor- 
ture, was  constructed  of  gray  stone,  and  stood  in  Liberty 
street,  east  of  Nassau,  and  immediately  adjoining  the  Middle 
Dutch  Church,  or  what  is  now  the  old  New  York  Post-office. 
This  sugar  refinery,  erected  in  1689,  had  passed  through  an 
honorable  career  from  the  days  of  Leisler  downward  in  its 
legitimate  use,  but  was  now,  under  foreign  rule,  destined  to 
depart  from  the  good  old  way ;  its  sweetness  to  be  changed  to 
sail  and  bitterness,  and  its  cheerful  business  hum  to  the  sig-hs 
and  wails  of  the  suffering  and  starving.  The  edifice  con- 
tained five  low  stories  which  were  each  divided  into  two  rooms. 
The  walls  were  very  heavy,  and  the  windows  small  and  deep. 
The  yard  was  encircled  with  a  close  board-fence  nine  feet 
high.  Within  these  walls  were  at  times  huddled  400  or  500 
prisoners  of  war,  without  beds,  blankets,  or  fire  in  winter, 
wearing  for  months  the  filthy  garments  that  covered  them  on 
the  day  of  their  capture.  Hot  weather  came,  and  with  it  the 
typhus  fever,  which  prevailed  fearfully,  filling  the  dead  cart 
on  each  returning  morning  with  wrecks  of  wasted  humanity, 
which  were  rudely  dumped  in  the  trenches  in  the  outskirts  of 
the  city.  The  meagre  diet  of  these  suffering  patriots  con- 
sisted of  pork  and  sea  biscuit ;  the  latter,  having  been  damaged 
by  salt  water,  were  consequently  very  mouldy,  and  much  worm- 


< 


76 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


eaten.  We  present  a  cnt  of  this  memorable  structure,  which 
stood  as  a  monument  of  the  several  periods  through  which 
it  had  passed  until  1840,  when  it  was  demolished  by  the 
march  of  modern  architectural  improvements.  This  cut  and 
several  others  in  this  volume  were  engraved  by  Alexander 
Anderson,  M.D.,  when  in  his  eighty-eighth  year,  and  were  ob- 
tained, with  valuable  information  in  relation  to  the  prisons  of 
the  Revolution,  from  Charles  I.  Buslmell,  Esq.,  of  Kew  York, 
who  has  perhaps  taken  a  deeper  interest  in  the  study  of  that 
interesting  period  than  any  other  writer  of  our  times. 


THE  OLD  SUGAR  HOrSE  IN  IIBERTV  .STREET. 

But  dreadful  as  were  the  prisons,  and  the  old  sugar-house 
in  Liberty  street,  the  prison-ships  are  of  still  more  terrific 
memory.  In  1779  the  "Prince  of  Wales"  and  the  "  Good 
Hope  "  were  used  as  prison-ships.  The  "  Good  Hope  "  being 
destroyed  by  fire  the  following  year,  several  old  hulks  for- 
merly employed  as  men-of-war  were  anchored  in  the  North 
and  the  East  rivers,  and  were  called  hospital  ships,  though  it 
soon  became  apparent  that  they  were  but  wretched  prisons 
for  captured  Americans.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned 
the  u  Stromboli,"  the  "  Scorpion,"  the  "Hunter,"  the  "  Fal- 


SHOCKING  BARBARITY  OF  ENGLISH  OFFICERS.  77 


mouth,"  the  "  Chatham,"  the  "  Kitty,"  the  "  Frederick,"  the 
"  Glasgow,"  the  "Woodland,"  the  "  Clyde,"  the  "Persever 
ance,"  and  the  "  Packet."    (See  cut  page  100.) 

But  none  attained  such  appalling  notoriety,  as  a  monstrous 
crucible  of  human  woe,  as  the  "  Jersey."  This  vessel  was 
originally  a  British  line-of-battle  ship,  built  in  1736,  and  car- 
ried sixty  guns.  She  had  done  good  service  in  the  war  with 
France,  and  had  several  times  served  as  a  part  of  the  Medi- 
terranean squadron.  In  the  spring  of  1776  she  sailed  for 
America  as  one  of  the  fleet  of  Commodore  Hotham,  and  ar- 
rived at  Sandy  Hook  in  the  month  of  August.  She  was  sub- 
sequently used  as  a  storeship,  then  employed  as  a  hospital 
ship,  and  was  finally,  in  the  winter  of  1779-80,  fitted  up  for  a 
prison  ship,  and  anchored  near  the  Wallabout  in  the  East  river, 
near  what  is  now  the  Navy  Yard,  where  she  lay  until  the 
close  of  the  war,  when  the  day  of  retribution  arrived,  and 
she  was  broken  up  and  sunk  beneath  the  muddy  waters  of 
the  East  river  to  rise  no  more.  Dismantled  of  her  sails  and 
stripped  of  her  rigging,  with  port  holes  closed,  with  no  spar 
but  the  bowsprit,  and  a  derrick  to  take  in  supplies,  her  small 
lone  flag  at  the  stern  became  the  appropriate  but  unconscious 
signal  of  the  dreadful  suffering  that  raged  within.  Hundreds 
of  captured  prisoners  were  packed  into  this  small  vessel, 
where,  with  but  one  meal  of  coarse  and  filthy  food  per  diem, 
without  hammocks,  or  physicians,  or  medicines,  or  means  of 
cleanliness,  they  wretchedly  perished.  Thousands  of  emaci- 
ated skeletons  were  during  these  perilous  years  cast  into  the 
billows  of  the  bay,  or  left  half  covered  in  the  sand  banks  and 
trenches.  The  bones  of  the  dead  lay  exposed  along  the  beach, 
drying  and  bleaching  in  the  sun,  whitening  the  shore  until 
washed  away  by  the  surging  tides.  About  twelve  thousand 
prisoners  are  believed  to  have  died  on  these  vessels,  most  of 
whom  were  young  men,  the  strength  and  flower  of  their 
country. 

The  spirit  of  Yankee  adventure  was  not  wanting,  however, 
even  in  those  floating  dens  of  pestilence  and  famine.  The 


73 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


prisoners  on  board  the  "  Jersey  "  secretly  obtained  a  crow-bar, 
which  they  artfully  concealed  and  used  on  windy  and  stormy 
nights  to  break  off  the  port  gratings,  when  good  swimmers 
would  plunge  into  the  water  and  make  their  way  to  the  shore. 
Thus  numbers  escaped  to  their  friends,  to  tell  the  sad  story 
of  their  sufferings  and  reveal  the  still  sadder  fact  of  the  num- 
bers who  had  died.  A  singularly  daring  and  successful  feat 
was  undertaken  in  December,  1780,  by  some  adventurous  New 
England  captains  suffering  on  the  "  Jersey."  The  best  boat 
of  the  ship  had  returned  from  New  York  about  four  in  the 
afternoon,  and  was  carelessly  fastened  at  the  gangway,  with 
her  oars  on  board.  •  A  storm  prevailed,  and  the  wind  blew 
down  the  river,  producing  an  immense  tide.  At  a  given  sig- 
nal a  party  of  prisoners  placed  themselves  carelessly  between 
the  ship's  waist  and  the  sentinel,  while  the  four  captains  en 
tered  the  boat,  the  fastening  of  which  was  thrown  off  by  theii 
friends.  The  boat  passed  close  under  the  bow  of  the  ship 
and  was  at  a  considerable  distance  from  her  before  the  senti- 
nel at  the  forecastle  gave  the  alarm  and  fired  at  her.  The 
second  boat  was  manned  with  much  dispatch  for  a  chase,  but 
she  pursued  in  vain.  One  man  from  her  bow  fired  several 
shots  at  the  deserters,  and  a  few  guns  were  discharged  from 
the  shore  ;  but  all  to  no  effect.  The  boat  passed  Hell-gate  in 
the  evening,  and  arrived  at  Connecticut  with  her  precious 
freight  the  next  morning.  Very  few  deserters  were  captured. 

Civilians  also  suffered  with  the  soldiers.  On  one  of  the 
coldest  nights  of  the  century  a  party  of  British  troops  crossed 
the  Hudson  river  on  the  ice  and  proceeded  to  Newark.  After 
capturing  the  little  garrison  they  burned  the  academy  and 
rifled  many  of  the  dwellings.  They  then  entered  the  house 
of  Justice  Iledden,  and  carried  him  from  his  bed  a  prisoner, 
with  no  clothing  to  screen  him  from  the  dreadful  blast  save 
his  shirt  and  stockings,  wounding  his  wife  in  her  head  and 
breast,  who  remonstrated  against  this  inhuman  procedure. 
Fortunately,  a  few  militia  pursued  them  and  rescued  the  Jus- 


SHOCKING  BARBARITY  OF  ENGLISH  OFFICERS. 


79 


tice,  who  was  dreadfully  frozen,  and  must  have  perished  long 
before  reaching  New  York. 

When  the  traitor  Arnold  entered  New  York,  he  speedily 
procured  the  arrest  of  more  than  fifty  of  the  warmest  friends 
of  independence,  who  were  hurled  into  dungeons  and  other 
places  of  confinement,  where  they  long  continued.  The  poor 
prisoners  were  kept  in  profound  ignorance  of  the  progress  of 
the  war,  and  were  led  to  believe  that  their  cause  was  hope- 
lessly lost.  Imagine  the  feelings  of  one  of  these  sufferers,  in 
the  old  sugar-house  in  Liberty  street,  as  he  one  day  stood 
leaning  in  bitterness  of  soul  against  the  high  fence  which 
surrounded  it,  when  a  citizen,  passing  near  by,  without  halt- 
ing or  turning  his  head,  said,  in  a  low  tone,  "  General  Bur- 
goyne  is  taken,  with  his  whole  army.  It  is  the  truth  /  you 
may  depend  upon  it"  His  sinking  hopes  revived.  He  hob- 
bled back  into  the  gloomy  den,  to  whisper  in  palsied  ears  the 
cheering  truth,  and  raise,  even  in  those  death-glazed  eyes,  the 
thrice  welcome  vision  of  a  country  saved.  That  friendly 
informant  would  have  suffered  severely  if  discovered ;  but 
his  contribution  to  these  wasting  patriots  was  more  valuable 
than  the  gold  of  Ophir  or  the  affection  of  woman.  But  the 
plant  of  liberty  does  not  die  of  hunger,  or  thirst,  or  naked- 
ness, or  reproach,  or  contumely.  Nay,  these  but  accelerate 
its  immortal  development ;  and,  amid  the  sufferings  of  the 
prisons,  the  privations  of  the  camps,  the  wails  and  sobbings 
of  widows  and  orphans,  it  continued  its  sublime  expansion, 
until,  at  length,  bursting  through  every  opposition,  it  spread 
its  benign  shadow  o'er  all  the  land. 

In  the  midst  of  these  appalling  sufferings,  the  British  offi- 
cers of  New  York  amused  themselves  by  planning  a  theatre, 
consenting  themselves  to  become  the  comedians — a  practice 
which  they  continued,  in  the  edifice  in  John  street,  for  sev- 
eral years,  the  tory  population  attending  and  applauding  their 
entertainments. 


80 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


HALE  AND  ANDRE,  THE  TWO  SPIES. 

OUTITUDE  under  the  smart  of  un- 
merited sufferings  is  one  of  the  rarest 
traits  of  humanity. 

War  is  not  only  characterized  by 
general  suffering  and  disaster,  involv- 
ing nearly  every  family  of  the  country, 
but  by  personal  adventures  and  sacri- 
fices, which  not  unfrequently  leave  a 
sting  to  rankle  in  the  minds  of  successive  generations.  There 
is  a  moral  sublimity  in  one's  voluntarily  casting  himself 
between  his  country  and  its  fiercest  enemies,  uncovering  his 
own  brave  head  to  receive  the  blow,  that  by  his  sacrifice 
kindred  and  posterity  may  glide  unscathed  and  peacefully 
down  the  stream  of  time ;  but  this  sublimity  is  greatly  inten- 
sified when  young  men  of  brilliant  abilities,  stainless  reputa- 
tion, and  of  undoubted  worth  to  society  nobly  assume  responsi- 
bilities attended  with  extraordinary  perils,  and  likely  soon  to 
culminate  in  saddest  failure  and  ruin.  The  career  of  Nathan 
Hale  and  of  John  Andre,  two  of  the  most  brilliant  and  virtu- 
ous young  officers  representing  the  opposing  forces  of  that 
stormy  period,  presents  one  of  the  most  striking  examples  of 
this  kind  in  the  annals  of  time.  Hale  was  born  in  Coventry, 
Conn.,  June  6,  1755  ;  graduated  with  high  honor,  at  Yale 
College,  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  and  soon  became  a  suc- 
cessful teacher.  His  parents  designed  him  for  the  ministry ; 
but  the  crash  of  arms  at  Lexington  so  aroused  his  patriotic 
impulses  that  he  immediately  wrote  to  his  father,  stating 
"  that  a  sense  of  duty  urged  him  to  sacrifice  everything  for 
his  country."  He  soon  after  entered  the  army  as  a  lieuten- 
ant, and  was,  a  few  months  later,  promoted  to  the  captaincy. 
While  stationed  with  the  troops  near  Boston,  he  wras  noted  as 
a  vigilant  officer;  and,  in  the  early  part  of  September,  1776, 
when  in  New  York,  he,  with  an  associate,  planned  and  cap- 


HALE  AND  ANDRE,  THE  TWO  SPIES. 


81 


tured  a  British  sloop  laden  with  provisions,  taking  her  at 
midnight  from  under  the  guns  of  a  frigate. 

Just  before  the  capture  of  New  York,  Washington  became 
exceedingly  anxious  to  ascertain  the  plans  of  the  enemy,  who 
were  encamped  in  force  on 
L0112;  Island.  A  council  of 
war  was  held,  and  an  ap- 
peal made  for  a  discreet 
officer  to  enter  the  enemy's 
lines  and  gather  informa- 
tion. Captain  Hale,  who 
was  only  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  came  nobly  forward 
and  offered  to  undertake 
the  perilous  mission.  He 
entered  the  British  lines 
in  disguise,  examined  the 
island,  made  drawings  and 
memoranda  of  everything  most  important,  ascertained  their 
plans,  conducting  his  enterprise  with  great  capacity  and 
add  ress,  but  was  accidentally  apprehended  in  making  his 
escape.  But  while  Hale  was  making  discoveries  at  Long  Island, 
a  portion  of  the  British  army  had  crossed  the  East  river  under 
cover  of  the  fire  of  their  fleet,  and  had  captured  New  York, 
General  Howe  taking  up  temporary  headquarters  in  the 
vicinity  of  Fiftieth  street.  Hale  was  brought  to  the  head- 
quarters of  Howe,  who  delivered  him  to  the  notorious  Cun- 
ningham, ordering  him  to  be  executed  on  the  following 
morning,  unless  he  should  renounce  the  colonial  cause.  He 
was  unmercifully  hanged  upon  an  apple-tree,  and  his  remains 
cast  into  an  unknown  grave. 

Andre  was  born  in  London,  in  1751 ;  was  educated  at 
Geneva,  after  which  he  entered  a  counting-house.  Disap- 
pointed in  love,  he  abandoned  business  and  entered  the  army, 
where  he  rose  by  the  intrinsic  worth  of  his  character  to  be 
captain,  major,  and  finally  adjutant-general,  under  Sir  Henry 

6 


82 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


Clinton,  chief  commander  at  New  York.  As  he  had  read 
extensively,  had  a  vigorous  memory,  brilliant  powers  of  con- 
versation, understood  several  languages,  wrote  poetry,  and 
was  a  fine  singer,  he  became  naturally  a  universal  favorite  in 
all  select  circles.  His  enthusiasm  for  the  loyal  cause  was 
unbounded;  and  Sir  Henry  Clinton  appears  to  have  com- 
mitted to  his  pen  the  treasonable  correspondence  which  was 
conducted  for  more  than  eighteen  months  with  Benedict 
Arnold.  Their  letters  were  written  in  disguised  hands,  Ar- 
nold using  the  signature  of  "Gustavus,"  and  Andre  that  of 
"  John  Anderson."  Some  of  these  letters  are  believed  to  have 
been  written  in  the  Kipp  Bay  House,  a  cut  of  which  is  in- 
serted on  page  56.  This  edifice,  erected  of  Holland  brick, 
in  1641,  was  considered  a  mansion  of  such  respectable  grand- 
eur during  the  revolution,  that  in  the  forced  absence  of  the 
proprietor,  who  was  a  whig,  it  was  made  the  headquarters 
and  place  of  banqueting  and  pleasant  resort  of  British  offi- 
cers of  distinction.  Here  Sir  William  Howe,  Sir  Henry 
Clinton,  Lord  Percy,  General  Knyphausen,  Major  Andre, 
and  their  satellites  beguiled  many  a  weary  hour.  It  was  at 
this  house  that  Major  Andre  partook  of  his  last  public  dinner 
in  New  York,  and  with  his  characteristic  conviviality  sung  at 
the  repast  a  song  beginning : 

"Why,  soldiers,  why, 
Should  we  be  melancholy  boys, 
Wlwse  business  His  to  die?  "  etc. 

In  ten  short  days  from  that  time  this  gay  and  accomplished 
officer  was  a  prisoner,  and  found  it  his  sad  u  business  to  die  " 
as  a  malefactor. 

But  we  have  somewhat  anticipated  our  story.  Andre*  was 
selected  to  ascend  the  Hudson,  have  an  interview  with  Ar- 
nold, and  complete  the  arrangement  for  the  capture  of  West 
Point.  From  the  "  Vulture,"  an  English  man-of-war,  he  landed 
near  naverstraw,  at  dead  of  night,  held  the  expected  confer- 
ence with  the  American  traitor,  lay  concealed  for  some  time 


HALE  AND  ANDRE,  THE  TWO  SPIES. 


83 


within  the  American  lines,  but  was  captured  at  Tarrytown, 
in  an  effort  to  return  to  New  York.  After  an  impartial  trial 
he  was,  at  the  age  of  twenty-nine  years,  executed  as  a  spy,  at 
Tappan,  October  2,  1780. 

While  there  are  some  points  of  similarity  in  the  career  and 
fate  of  these  accomplished  young  men,  there  are  also  re- 
markable contrasts  in  the  treatment  administered  to  them  by 
the  authorities  into  whose  hands  they  fell.  Neither  of  them 
contested  the  principles  upon  which  they  were  sentenced, 
but  manfully  recognized  the  importance  of  these  rules  of 
war,  though  Andre  begged  that  the  application  of  the  rule 
might  be  changed,  and  he  shot  instead  of  hanged — a  matter 
to  which  Hale  was  profoundly  indifferent. 

Hale  was  approached  by  the  authorities  with  advantageous 
offers,  on  condition  that  he  would  join  the  enemy,  which  he 
resolutely  spurned,  at  the  loss  of  his  life ;  but  Andre  was 
subjected  to  no  such  temptations.  Hale,  captured  in  the 
afternoon,  was  executed  at  day-break  on  the  following  morn- 
ing ;  while  Andre  was  granted  ten  days  to  prepare  for  his 
approaching  doom.  Hale,  during  the  short  period  of  his 
confinement,  was  made  in  every  conceivable  manner  to  feel 
that  he  was  considered  a  traitor  and  a  rebel.  He  saw 
no  friendly  countenance,  and  heard  no  word  of  respect  or 
compassion.  The  hasty  letters  he  wrote  to  his  father  and 
sister  were  destroyed,  and  he  was  even  denied  the  use  of  a 
Bible  and  the  counsels  of  a  clergyman  at  his  execution.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  generous  Americans,  half -forgetting  the 
treachery  of  Andre,  lavished  to  the  last  their  attentions  and 
affections  upon  his  accomplished  person,  Washington  shed- 
ding tears  when  he  signed  his  death-warrant.  Andre,  as  he 
was  going  to  die,  with  great  presence  of  mind  and  the  most 
engaging  air,  bowed  to  all  around  him,  thanking  them  for 
the  kindness  and  respect  with  which  he  had  been  treated, 
saying,  "  Gentlemen,  you  will  bear  witness  that  I  die  with 
the  firmness  becoming  a  soldier."  Hale  had  received  no 
respect,  and  no  kindly  attentions ;  hence,  he  had  none  to 


84 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


return.  He  was  a  mere  youth,  but  with  a  manly  courage, 
mighty  in  death  on  the  scaffold,  exclaimed,  "  I  am  so  satis- 
fied with  the  cause  in  which  I  have  engaged,  that  my  only 
regret  is  that  I  have  not  more  lives  than  one  to  offer  in  its 
service." 

While  we  can  but  respect  the  attainments  and  admire  the 
bearing  of  Andre,  we  are  no  less  favorably  impressed  with 
the  manly  accomplishments  and  fortitude  of  Hale,  several 
years  his  junior,  who  passed  through  one  of  the  most  trying 
ordeals  in  the  history  of  the  world,  and  whose  name  has  not 
had  its  deserved  prominence  in  American  history. 


ARNOLD  IN  NEW  YORK. 


MMOKG  all  the  blackened  names  that 
darken  the  pages  of  New  York  his- 
tory, no  one  has  stood  forth  so  con- 
spicuously, or  been  so  emphatically 
I  a  hissing  and  a  by-word  among  all 
classes,  as  that  of  Benedict  Arnold. 
He  was  born  of  respectable  parentage  at  Norwich,  Conn., 
January  3,  1740,  where  he  received  the  usual  common- 
school  education  of  his  day,  being  designed  by  his  friends  for 
a  mercantile  career.  His  early  associations  and  habits  gave 
evidence  of  an  unprincipled,  adventurous,  and  changeable 


ARNOLD  IN  NEW  YORK. 


85 


nature,  which  unfortunately  grew  worse  and  worse  through 
all  his  career.  His  greatest  talent  was  doubtless  in  military 
pursuits,  where  he  always  appeared  as  an  intrepid,  dashing, 
and  successful  chieftain.  Among  the  first  at  the  outbreak 
of  the  Revolution  to  abandon  business  and  mount  the  sad- 
dle, he  was  during  the  early  northern  campaigns  more  con- 
spicuous than  any  other,  exhibiting  everywhere  a  genius  and 
fortitude  challenging  the  respect  of  friend  and  foe.  But  his 
treacherous  and  selfish  nature,  his  vanity  and  extravagance, 
were  everywhere  as  conspicuous  as  his  military  successes,  re- 
sulting in  repeated  perplexities  and  difficulties,  rendering 
him  forever  unpopular  and  an  object  of  public  suspicion. 
Overlooked  and  slighted 
by  Congress  in  its  army 
appointments,  convicted  of 
peculation  and  reprimand- 
ed by  his  superiors,  and 
strangely  ambitious  for  lux- 
ury and  display,  he  satani- 
cally  resolved  to  betray  his 
country's  cause,  and  sell  his 
influence  for  a  bag  of  gold. 
He  was  probably  long  re- 
strained from  this  traitor- 
ous undertaking  by  the 
counsels  of  Washington, 
who  highly  appreciated  his  abilities,  though  he  disapproved 
of  his  unscrupulous  conduct.  Recovering  from  a  wound  re- 
ceived in  battle,  he  wTas  appointed  to  the  command  of  Phila- 
delphia. Here  he  married  for  his  second  wTife  Miss  Margaret 
Shippen,  wmose  father  was  subsequently  chief  justice  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  was  at  that  time  considered  one  of  the  chief 
men  of  the  State,  though  strongly  attached  to  the  tory  interest. 
His  wife  was  one  of  the  chief  belles  of  the  city,  and  probably 
added  some  stimulus  to  his  extravagant  temper.  She  had 
been  an  intimate  friend  of  Major  Andre,  with  whom  she  con- 


86 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


tinued  to  correspond  after  her  marriage,  and  which  probably 
paved  the  way  for  the  undying  dishonor  of  her  husband. 
Having  resolved  on  great  treachery,  Arnold  sought  and 
obtained  from  Washington  command  of  West  Point,  one 
of  the  principal  bulwarks  of  the  country  and  the  key  to  the 
interior.  His  iniquitous  correspondence  with  British  officials 
is  believed  to  have  been  continued  for  eighteen  months  be- 
fore its  detection.  In  this  he  proposed  to  so  dispose  of  the 
troops  at  West  Point  that  the  place,  with  all  its  forces  and 
munitions,  would  fall  an  easy  conquest ;  for  which  lie  was  to 
be  rewarded  with  a  General's  commission  in  the  royal  army, 
and  a  purse  of  £10,000  of  English  gold.  Deserting  his  country 
which  had  raised  him  from  obscurity,  robbing  her  of  his  in- 
fluence and  service,  seeking  with  artful  strategy  to  enslave 
her  patriots  and  desolate  her  plains,  in  the  period  of  her 
deepest  poverty  and  distress,  he  committed  one  of  those  unpar- 
donable crimes  which  the  world  has  never  been  able  to  over- 
look. Twice  he  narrowly  escaped  capture ;  a  singular  pro- 
vidence, however,  ordered  that  his  crime  should  not  be  wiped 
out  with  his  blood,  but  that,  through  the  twenty-one  years  of 
his  ripened  manhood,  his  dejected  crest  should  be  blazoned 
with  the  marks  of  his  infamy,  and  that  he  should  live  and 
die  a  despised  exile  from  the  land  of  his  nativity.  He  would 
have  been  captured,  and  humanly  speaking  should  have  been, 
by  Washington  at  West  Point,  had  it  not  been  for  the  unac- 
countable stupidity  of  Colonel  Jameson,  commander  at  North 
Castle,  to  whom  Andre  was  given  after  his  arrest.  The 
papers  found  in  his  stockings,  containing  plans  of  all  the 
West  Point  fortifications,  a  description  of  the  works,  the 
number  of  troops,  the  disposition  of  the  corps,  etc.,  etc.,  were 
all  in  Arnold's  handwriting.  These  Jameson  dispatched  to 
Washington,  but  insisted  on  sending  a  letter  stating  these 
facts  to  Arnold,  which  apprised  him  of  his  danger  and  led  to 
his  hasty  flight.  The  letter  from  Jameson  was  received  by 
Arnold  while  at  breakfast  with  his  wife  and  several  officers. 
He  was  greatly  startled,  but  quieted  the  officers  by  stating 


AKNOLD  IN  NEW  YORK. 


87 


that  his  presence  was  needed  at  the  fortifications,  and  that  he 
would  soon  return.  His  wife,  with  her  infant  child,  had  come 
from  Philadelphia  to  join  him  at  his  post  of  duty  but  ten 
days  previously.  Summoning  her  to  their  private  room,  he 
informed  her  of  his  crime,  and  the  necessity  of  his  immediate 
flight.  Overwhelmed  with  the  announcement,  she  screamed, 
swooned,  and  fell  upon  the  floor,  and  in  this  perilous  condition 
he  left  her  and  fled  for  his  life.  Gaining  the  "  Vulture," 
still  anchored  in  the  river,  he  proceeded  to  New  York. 
Here  he  received  his  royal  commission,  and  at  length  the 
stipulated  price  for  his  treason ;  but  his  crime  was  too  naked 
and  wanton  to  secure  respect  even  from  those  for  whom  he 
had  sacrificed  his  honor.  He  soon  caused  multitudes  of 
patriots  to  be  arrested  and  cast  into  dungeons,  but  in  his 
precipitate  flight  from  "West  Point  he  had  left  all  his  papers, 
and  hence  could  produce  no  evidence  against  them.  Covered 
with  scorn,  he  lived  in  partial  concealment,  sometimes  in  the 
Yerplanck  House  in  Wall  street,  and  again  on  Broadway, 
near  the  Kennedy  House,  Clinton's  residence  and  headquar- 
ters. To  save  him  from  utter  contempt  when  he  rode  out, 
English  officers  attended  him,  though  it  is  said  many  of  them 
thought  it  an  ungracious  task  to  appear  at  his  side  in  the  streets. 
While  here,  a  plot  was  laid  in  the  American  camp  for  his 
capture,  which  nearly  succeeded.  The  American  troops 
were  so  stung  with  the  disgrace  he  had  brought  upon  their 
arms,  that  many  were  ready  to  enlist  in  any  feasible  enter- 
prise to  bring  him  to  speedy  retribution.  Sergeant-major 
Champe,  of  the  American  dragoons  in  New  Jersey,  was  the 
daring  spirit  of  the  band,  who,  by  a  connivance  with  his  com- 
manding officer,  deserted  the  ranks  and  galloped  toward  the 
Hudson,  but  so  hotly  was  he  pursued  by  several  troopers  not 
in  the  secret  that  he  plunged  into  the  river  and  swam  across 
to  New  York.  His  perilous  adventure  gave  the  strongest 
evidence  that  his  desertion  to  the  British  was  genuine ;  hence, 
he  was  warmly  received  by  all.  He  thus  gained  free  access 
to  Arnold's  residence  in  Broadway,  and  adroitly  matured  a 


88  NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 

plan  for  his  capture.  His  comrades  were  to  cross  from  New 
Jersey  in  a  boat  opposite  the  house,  under  cover  qf  darkness, 
pass  up  through  an  adjoining  alley,  enter  the  garden  and  gain 
access  to  the  rear  of  the  dwelling,  seize  and  gag  the  victim, 
carrying  him  by  the  same  route  to  the  boat.  Champe  had 
loosened  the  pickets  of  the  fence,  the  hour  was  appointed  for 
the  undertaking;  but  unfortunately,  on  the  day  previous  to 
its  execution,  Champe's  regiment  was  ordered  to  embark  for 
Chesapeake,  and  Arnold  removed  his  headquarters  to  another 
dwelling.  Champe's  comrades  were  punctual  at  the  rendez- 
vous, where  they  waited  several  hours  for  his  appearance  ; 
and  then  returned  in  disappointment  to  camp.  Not  long 
after  Champe  made  his  escape  from  the  southern  army,  and 
returned  to  his  friends,  to  clear  up  the  strange  mystery  that 
had  hung  over  his  conduct.  Arnold  left  New  York  to  com- 
mand an  expedition  against  Virginia,  and  afterwards  led  one 
against  New  London,  Conn.  ;  and  is  said  to  have  watched 
with  fiendish  cruelty  the  burning  of  the  town,  almost  in  sight 
of  the  place  of  his  birth.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  he  went  to 
England,  where  he  died  unlamented,  in  1801.  It  is  said  that 
he  once  expressed  the  sorrow  that  he  was  the  only  man  liv- 
ing who  could  not  find  refuge  in  the  American  .Republic. 


BRITISH  EVACUATION. 


89 


BRITISH  EVACUATION. 

HE  surrender  of  Lord  Corn wal lis  at 
Yorktown,  on  the  17th  of  October, 
1781,  with  seven  thousand  English 
troops,  was  really  the  signal  for  termin 
ating  the  weary  struggle.  Lord  North, 
the  English  Premier,  was  compelled  to 
resign  the  following  March,  and  Rock- 
ingham, the  leader  of  the  peace  party 
in  Parliament,  was  appointed  to  fill  his  place.  Negotiation 
followed  for  many  months,  ending  in  the  complete  emanci- 
pation of  the  colonies  from  British  rule.  On  the  25th  of 
November,  1783,  at  12  m.,  the  British  flag  was  taken  from 
the  staff  on  the  fort,  the  troops  embarked,  and  the  long  ex- 
patriated citizens  were  allowed  to  return  to  the  full  possession 
of  their  city  and  property.  Washington  tarried  until  the 
4th  of  December,  when  he  took  his  farewell  of  his  ofhcers 
amid  such  expressions  of  profound  sorrow  as  have  rarely 
been  exhibited  in  army  circles.  The  city,  seven  years  a 
prison  and  military  depot,  had  greatly  sunken  into  decay ; 
commerce  was  wholly  ruined,  and  general  desolation  brooded 
on  every  side.  Though  escaped  from  the  boiling  caldron  of 
war,  it  was  long  disquieted  with  civil  feuds  growing  out  of 
the  late  struggle.  Its  population  at  the  close  of  the  war 
amounted  to  about  twenty-three  thousand,  and  though  nu- 
merous improvements  were  contemplated,  so  deep  and  uni- 
versal was  the  poverty  of  the  population  that  little  of  public 
enterprise  was  undertaken  for  more  than  fifteen  years. 


90  NEW   YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 

THE  BURR  AND  HAMILTON  TRAGEDY  OF  1804. 

REVOLUTIONARY  period  opens  a 
wide  theatre  for  the  development  of 
the  rarest  genius,  and  for  the  grandest 
display  of  all  the  richest  qualities  of 
the  human  soul.  And  while  it  is  true 
that  great  benevolence,  patriotism,  or 
self-sacrifice  at  such  times  glows  with 
a  richer  coloring,  it  is  no  less  true  that 
selfishness,  peculation,  and  treason,  are 
branded  with  a  deeper  infamy.  The  stirring  events  of  the 
American  Revolution  brought  to  the  surface  a  multitude  of 
able  and  brilliant  men,  some  of  whom  by  directness  and 
sterling  integrity  towered  higher  and  higher  through  all  their 
history,  while  others  equally  gifted,  choosing  the  tortuous 
paths  of  stratagem  and  guile,  sunk  into  national  contempt, 
and  blackened  their  names  with  undying  disgrace.  While  few 
names  in  American  history,  on  their  bare  announcement, 
suggest  more  than  those  of  Aaron  Burr  and  Alexander  Ham- 
ilton, it  would  be  difficult  to  find  two  young  men  whose  early 
circumstances  presented  more  numerous  points  of  similarity, 
or  upon  whom  nature  and  providence  had  more  profusely 
lavished  their  gifts  and  opportunities.  Born  in  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  with  but  eleven  months'  difference 
in  their  ages,  educated  in  the  first  circles  of  the  times,  fortu- 
nate in  their  matrimonial  alliances;  both  small  of  stature, 
beautiful  in  person,  courtly  in  carriage,  rarely  gifted  in  mind, 
distinguished  for  gallantry  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  for  suc- 
cess at  the  bar,  they  certainly  had  opportunities  wride  as  the 
world  for  the  realization  of  the  highest  worldly  satisfaction, 
and  for  immortal  renown. 

Hamilton  was  born  in  the  West  Indies,  where  he  lost  his 
mother  in  childhood ;  his  father  early  failed  in  business,  con- 
tinuing through  life  in  poverty  and  dependence,  leaving  his 
son  under  the  charge  of  relatives.    The  Revolution  found 


THE  BURR  AND  HAMILTON  TRAGEDY  OF  1804. 


91 


young  Hamilton  a  student  in  King's  (Columbia)  College, 
where  he  displayed  such  extraordinary  qualities  of  mind 
that  he  soon  rose  from  obscurity  to  shine  through  life  as  a 
star  of  the  first  magnitude  in  the  politi- 
cal and  intellectual  world.  Having 
adopted  New  York  as  the  city  of  his 
residence,  he  espoused  the  colonial 
cause  unfalteringly,  and  early  entered 
the  army.  He  took  part  in  the  battle 
of  Long  Island,  retired  across  the  Har- 
lem river  as  a  captain  of  artillery  un- 
der Washington  when  New  York  was 
abandoned  to  the  enemy,  shared  the 
dispiriting  retreat  through  the  Jerseys, 

bore  honorable  part  in  the  battles  of  Trenton  and  Princeton, 
and  assisted  at  the  capture  of  Lord  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown. 
He  early  became  aide-de-camp  to  General  Washington,  whose 
confidence  he  always  retained,  conducting  much  of  the  Gen- 
eral's correspondence  during  the  war,  receiving  from  him  the 
appointment  of  first  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United 
States,  and  assisting  him  in  the  preparation  of  his  memorable 
Farewell  Address.  In  all  the  early  conventions  in  which  the 
principles  and  forms  of  our  government  were  settled,  and  in 
the  pamphlet  and  periodical  literature  of  his  times,  his  in- 
fluence was  scarcely  second  to  that  of  any  other  in  the  coun- 
try. The  practice  of  duelling,  rife  in  his  times,  and  by  which 
he  lost  his  eldest  son,  a  youth  of  twenty  years,  two  years  pre- 
vious to  his  own  sad  death,  he  utterly  condemned ;  yet,  yield- 
ing at  last  to  the  persistent  demands  of  a  false  honor,  he  was 
mortally  wounded  at  Weehauken  by  a  ball  from  Burr's  pis- 
tol, July  11th,  1804,  and  expired  on  the  following  day,  in  his 
forty-eighth  year. 

The  rise  of  Burr  was  not  so  completely  from  obscurity. 
His  father  and  grandfather  having  been  pre-eminently  dis- 
tinguished for  both  moral  and  intellectual  greatness,  he 
inherited  the  prestige  of  a  great  and  honored  name.  Grad- 


92 


EW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


uating  with  honor  at  Princeton,  in  1772,  at  the  early  age  of 
sixteen,  he  had  two  or  three  years  for  reading  and  observa- 
tion before  the  outburst  of  the  Revolution.  The  times  were 
fraught  with  great  events,  and  the  military  ambition  with 
which  his  whole  soul  was  aglow  soon  burst  forth  in  rapid 
and  dashing  strides  for  glory  and  renown.  In  those  perilous 
northern  campaigns  under  Arnold,  he  bore  a  distinguished 
part ;  and,  though  a  beardless  youth,  he  had  the  honor  of 
carrying  General  Montgomery  bleeding  from  the  field,  and 


RICHMOND  HILL  HOUSE. 


of  supporting  his  dying  head.  He  was  for  a  short  time 
associated  with  Washington  as  one  of  his  aids,  the  connection 
being  soon  dissolved  with  mutual  disgust,  which  never  after- 
wards suffered  any  abatement.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  Burr 
and  Hamilton,  neither  of  whom  had  spent  much  time  in  the 
study  of  law,  on  being  admitted,  began  to  practice  in  New 
York,  where  each  rose  with  the  rapidity  and  brilliancy  of  a 
rocket — entering  regions  which  rockets  could  not.  The  old 
members  of  the  bar  being  mostly  legally  disqualified  on  ac- 


THE  BURR  AND  HAMILTON  TRAGEDY  OF  1804.  93 

count  of  their  former  disloyalty,  these  intrepid  young  military 
celebrities,  with  scarcely  more  than  a  single  bound,  placed 
themselves  at  the  forefront  of  the  profession,  from  which  they 
were  never  subsequently  displaced.  Burr,  in  particular, 
from  his  family  associations,  soon  became  immensely  popular, 
drawing  numerous  and  wealthy  clients,  in  whose  service  he 
speedily  amassed  a  fortune.  In  the  meantime  his  success  in 
politics  was  equally  brilliant.  In  1784  he  was  elected  to  the 
State  legislature,  and  the  following  year  appointed  Attorney- 
General  of  New  York.  In  1791  he  entered  the  United 
States'  senate,  where  he  continued  six  years,  when  he  was 
again  sent  to  the  State  legislature.  Here  he  fought  a  blood- 
less duel  with  Mr.  Church.  The  electoral  college  of  1800, 
having  by  some  mischance  cast  an  equal  number  of  votes 
for  Burr  and  Jefferson,  the  House  of  Representatives,  on 
its  thirty-sixth  ballot,  elected  Jefferson  President,  leaving 
Burr  the  Vice-president  of  the  United  States.  It  was  during 
this  term  that  the  fatal  duel  occurred  between  him  and 
Hamilton.  Burr  had  purchased  the  famous  Richmond  Hill 
mansion,  where  he  lived  with  his  family  in  much  splendor. 
This  building,  erected  previous  to  the  Revolution,  stood  on  a 
fine  eminence,  on  what  is  now  the  corner  of  Varick  and 
Charlton  streets,  then  far  out  in  the  country,  and  was  sur- 
rounded with  richly  cultivated  gardens  and  parks.  It  had 
been  the  headquarters  of  General  Washington,  and  at  a  later 
period  was  occupied  by  one  of  the  British  Generals  com- 
manding New  York.  Hamilton  owned  a  fine  country  resi- 
dence on  the  Kingsbridge  road  (near  Central  Park),  but  at 
the  time  of  his  death  lived  in  Park  Place,  near  Broadway. 
Burr's  popularity  having  much  waned,  and  seeing  no  pros- 
pect of  being  returned  to  the  presidency,  sought  to  be 
elected  Governor  of  New  York.  In  this  he  was  also  over- 
whelmingly defeated.  Hamilton  was  virtually  the  head  of 
the  opposition ;  and  Burr  believed  his  failure  owing  to  cer- 
tain disparaging  utterances  made  by  this  distinguished  oppo- 
nent.   He  accordingly  demanded  a  general  and  uncondi- 


94 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


tional  retraction,  which,  not  being  instantly  complied  with, 
was  followed  by  a  challenge  for  a  duel.  Burr  had  been 
observed  by  the  boys  of  the  neighborhood  for  some  time,  to 
be  practising  with  a  pistol  in  his  park  ;  and  while  Hamilton 
in  the  encounter  innocently  discharged  his  piece  in  the  air, 
the  aim  of  Burr  produced  deadly  effect.  These  facts,  coming 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  people,  produced  the  belief  that  he 
had  sought  the  deliberate  murder  of  Hamilton,  who  had  long 


HAMILTON'S  RESIDENCE. 


been  his  victorious  opponent.  Burr  was  found  several  hours 
after  the  occurrence  in  his  arbor,  reading  one  of  his  favorite 
authors  as  composedly  as  if  nothing  had  happened,  and 
even  refused  to  credit  the  statement  that  Hamilton  had  been 
injured,  and  was  then  lying  in  a  dying  condition.  The  re- 
mains of  Hamilton  were  interred  amid  the  sighs  and  wails  of 


ROBERT  FULTON  AND  THE  "  CLERMONT." 


95 


the  people,  in  the  grounds  at  old  Trinity,  where  they  still 
remain.  Having  slain  the  nation's  favorite,  the  indignation 
of  the  populace  burst  forth  against  Burr  with  such  intensity 
that  he  was  glad  to  abandon  his  palace  home  and  seek  refuge 
in  the  Southern  States.  We  cannot  trace  minutely  his  later 
career.  Arrested  soon  after  and  tried  for  treason,  he  con- 
sumed all  his  means  in  making  his  defence  successful,  after 
which  he  sailed  for  Europe.  Sunk  in  deepest  poverty  and 
distress,  he  begged  a  passage  back  to  the  States  in  1812. 
His  wife  had  died  some  years  previously,  his  only  daughter, 
Mrs.  Governor  Alston,  of  South  Carolina,  and  her  son 
being  the  only  surviving  friends  to  claim  his  affection. 
About  the  time  of  his  return  from  Europe,  Aaron  Burr 
Alston,  his  only  grandchild,  was  laid  in  a  little  grave. 
The  mother  of  this  boy,  a  gifted  woman,  with  unchanging 
affection  for  her  doting  father,  soon  after  started  North  to 
visit  and  console  him  in  his  despised  and  wretched  condition. 
But  she  was  lost  at  sea,  and  never  heard  from  after  embarking  ; 
and  her  sorrow-stricken  husband,  after  long,  anxious,  and 
disappointed  search,  expired  suddenly  under  a  burden  of 
woe.  By  a  singular  providence,  Burr  lived  on  and  passed 
his  eightieth  year.  Like  a  shrivelled  and  fire-scorched  oak, 
he  still  lifted  his  guilty  head  and  looked  down  upon  the  des- 
olation of  his  business,  his  popularity,  his  honor,  his  family, 
and  his  hopes  for  time  and  for  eternity.  What  a  sad  and 
melancholy  comment  upon  the  insecurity  of  worldly  fortune, 
and  the  unhappy  fruit  of  deliberately  abandoned  principle  ! 


96 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


ROBERT  FULTON  AND  THE  "  CLERMONT." 

)W  long  and  anxiously  the 
world  waited  for  human  ge- 
nius to  control  and  utilize 
material  nature !  How  slow 
is  philosophical  progress ! 

Though  the  properties  of 
steam  were  treated  of,  and 
mechanical  effects  produced 
by  its  agenc\^,  more  than  two 
centuries  previous  to  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era, 
the  steam  engine  proper  was  not  patented  until  the  time  of 
Watt  (1768-9),  and  not  successfully  applied  to  the  use  of 
navigation  until  1807.  It  is  amusing,  in  these  days  of  rapid 
travel,  to  think  of  the  early  ferries  of  New  York,  and  the  slow 
progress  made  on  all  the  rivers  and  lakes.  Until  1810,  row- 
boats  and  pirogues  were  the  only  ferry-boats  plying  between 
New  York  and  Long  Island,  or  used  anywhere  else  on  the 
rivers.  Horse  power  was  introduced  in  1814,  the  boat  being 
constructed  with  a  wheel  in  the  centre,  propelled  by  horses, 
who  operated  on  a  sort  of  horizontal  treadmill.  The  first 
steam  ferry-boat  was  the  Nassau,  constructed  by  Fulton,  and 
placed  on  the  ferry  bearing  his  name  May  8,  1814 ;  but  as 
steam  was  considered  too  expensive,  no  additional  boats  of 
this  kind  were  added  for  more  than  ten  years. 

Experimenting  in  steam  navigation  had  been  going  on  in 
New  York  under  the  direction  of  Stevens,  Fitch,  and 
Robert  R.  Livingston,  for  more  than  twenty  years  previous  to 
the  successful  attempt  of  Fulton.  A  monopoly  had  been 
granted  to  John  Fitch  in  1787,  but  in  1798  the  legislature  of 
New  York  transferred  to  Chancellor  Livingston,  who  claimed 
to  be  the  discoverer  of  this  new  power,  the  exclusive  right  of 
steam  navigation  on  all  the  waters  of  the  State  for  twenty 
years,  provided  that  lie  should  within  the  next  twelve  months 


THE      CLERMONT  " 


PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS  OF  1825. 


97 


place  a  boat  on  the  Hudson  river,  with  a  speed  of  not  less 
than  four  miles  per  hour.  This  he  failed  to  do.  Several  years 
later  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Fulton,  in  France,  who, 
though  born  in  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  and  essentially  an 
American,  had  hitherto  gained  all  his  notoriety  in  the  old 
world.  Fulton  had  studied  painting  under  Benjamin  West, 
the  new  canal  system  under  the  Duke  of  Bridgewater,  had 
been  intimate  with  Watt,  the  inventor  of  the  steam  engine, 
had  invented  machines  for  making  ropes,  spinning  flax,  ex- 
cavating channels  and  aqueducts,  and  had  spent  much  time  in 
inventing  and  patenting  a  torpedo.  Fulton  has  been  described 
by  those  who  knew  him  as  tall  and  slender  in  form,  graceful 
in  manners,  simple  in  all  his  habits,  and  so  intelligent  and 
prepossessing  as  to  readily  captivate  the  young  and  win 
golden  opinions  from  the  talented  and  learned.  Entering 
into  an  arrangement  with  Mr.  Livingston,  he  returned  to  New 
York,  planned  and  launched  the  "  Clermont,"  the  first  steam- 
boat that  ever  ploughed  the  Hudson,  and  thus  obtained  the 
monopoly  on  the  waters  of  the  State.  The  vessel  was  con- 
structed at  Jersey  City,  amid  the  jeers  of  the  populace,  who 
derisively  christened  it  "  the  Fulton  Folly."  Scarcely  any 
one  believed  he  would  succeed ;  but  he  knew  the  fate  of  men 
who  live  in  advance  of  their  time,  and  coolly  proceeded  with 
his  undertaking.  On  the  7th  of  August,  1807,  he  announced 
his  vessel  ready  for  the  trial  trip  to  Albany.  Thousands  of 
eager  spectators  thronged  the  banks  of  the  river,  to  mingle 
their  glee  over  the  long-predicted  failure ;  but  as  the  ma- 
chinery began  its  movement,  and  the  vessel  stood  toward  the 
centre  of  the  river,  the  cry  of  u  she  moves  !  she  moves  !  "  ran 
all  along  the  line,  and  it  is  said  that  some  sailors  on  vessels 
anchored  in  the  river,  and  not  acquainted  with  the  secret, 
fell  down  on  their  knees  and  prayed  to  be  delivered  from 
this  wheezing  monster.  The  passage  to  Albany  was  made  in 
thirty-two  hours,  the  banks  of  the  river  being  thronged  much 
of  the  way  with  excited  thousands,  witnessing  with  peculiar 
pleasure  this  marvellous  triumph  of  human  genius.  But 

7 


98 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


while  Fulton  won  the  first  laurels  with  the  "  Clermont,"  Mr. 
John  Stevens,  and  his  son,  R.  L.  Stevens,  launched  the 
Phoenix  immediately  after,  which  they  ran  to  Philadelphia, 
gaining  equal  notoriety ;  and  as  soon  as  the  State  monopoly 
was  abolished  they  launched  an  improved  steamboat  with  a 
speed  of  thirteen  and  one-half  miles  per  hour,  thus  producing 
a  complete  revolution  in  the  system  of  navigation.  Fulton 
died  suddenly  in  the  plenitude  of  his  powers,  February  24th, 
1815,  in  the  fiftieth  year  of  his  age. 


PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS  OF  1825. 

APITAL  is  one  of  the  mighty 
engines  of  national  progress, 
and  internal  developments  can 
only  keep  pace  with  the  ac- 
cumulations of  the  people. 
Our  city  rulers  now  expend  more  on  pub- 
lic works  in  a  single  year  than  our  f  athers 
did  during  a  lifetime.  Still,  we  must 
pause  to  chronicle  a  few  of  the  prominent 
events  that  transpired  in  the  earlier  part 
of  this  century.  Passing  over  the  events 
of  the  war  with  England,  in  1812-14,  when  the  city  wore  a 
martial  air,  and  the  populace  almost  unanimously  engaged  in 
constructing  the  fortifications  at  the  Narrows,  on  the  islands 
of  the  bay^and  elsewhere;  and  the  imposing  reception  of 
General  Lafayette,  in  the  summer  of  1824,  we  pause  to 
glance  at  the  internal  improvements  of  the  following  year. 
The  year  1825  was  the  beginning  of  a  new  era  in  the  devel- 
opment of  the  city,  since  which  its  population  has  more  than 
quadrupled,  and  the  volume  of  its  commerce  enlarged  at  least 
twenty-fold.  The  great  event  of  this  year  was  the  opening 
of  the  Erie  Canal,  commenced  eight  years  previously.  The 


PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS  OF  1825. 


99 


first  flotilla  of  boats,  containing  Dewitt  Clinton,  Governor  of 
the  State,  and  many  other  distinguished  gentlemen,  left 
Buffalo  October  26th,  and  arrived  at  New  York  on  the  morn- 
ing of  November  4th.  The  triumphant  starting  was  signaled 
by  the  discharge  of  a  cannon,  which  was  replied  to  by  another 
and  another  all  along  the  line,  the  report  reaching  New  York 
in  eighty  minutes,  and  the  return  salute  finding  its  way  back 
to  Buffalo  in  about  the  same  time — the  raciest  telegraphing 
of  that  period.  The  construction  of  this  great  artificial 
thoroughfare,  as  well  as  its  subsequent  enlargement,  was  an 
unpopular  measure  with  a  large  minority  of  the  people,  on 
account  of  its  costliness ;  but  in  1866  it  was  ascertained  that, 
besides  enlarging  many  of  the  principal  cities,  and  adding  to 
the  comfort  and  wealth  of  nearly  all  the  people  of  the  State, 
it  had  returned  into  the  public  treasury  $23,500,000  above 
all  its  cost,  including  principal,  interest,  repairs,  superintend- 
ence, etc.,  etc. 

It  was  in  May,  1825,  that  the  first  gas-pipes  were  laid,  by 
the  New  York  Gas-light  Company,  which  had  been  incorpo- 
rated in  1823.  No  system  for  lighting  the  streets  was  intro- 
duced until  1697,  when  the  aldermen  were  charged  with  en- 
forcing the  duty  that  "  every  seventh  householder,  in  the  dark 
time  of  the  moon,  cause  a  lantern  and  candle  to  be  hung  out 
of  his  window  on  a  pole,  the  expense  to  be  divided  among 
the  seven  families."  At  a  later  period,  the  principal  streets 
were  dimly  lighted  with  oil  lamps.  This  first  gas-pipe  inno- 
vation extended  on  either  side  of  Broadway,  from  Canal 
street  to  the  Battery,  and  soon  grew  into  public  favor,  so  that 
in  1830  the  Manhattan  Gas-light  Company  was  incorporated 
with  a  capital  of  §500,000,  to  supply  the  upper  part  of  the 
island.  A  network  of  gas-pipes  now  extends  over  the  en- 
tire island,  conducting  this  brilliant  illuminator  into  nearly 
every  building. 

The  same  year  were  introduced  the  joint-stock  companies, 
which  were  speedily  followed  by  great  commercial  disasters, 
almost  paralyzing  the  commerce  of  the  whole  country. 


100 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


The  Merchants'  Exchange,  and  other  architectural  monu- 
ments, were  begun  the  same  year.  Marble  was  then  first  in- 
troduced for  ordinary  buildings,  the  City  Hall  and  the  Amer- 
ican Museum  being  the  only  buildings  then  standing  on  the 
island  in  the  construction  of  which  this  material  had  been 
employed.  The  records  of  that  otherwise  bright  year  were 
somewhat  darkened  with  the  introduction  of  the  Italian  opera 
and  the  Sunday  press. 

In  this  connection  we  may  also  add  that  the  New  York 
and  Erie  Railroad  was  opened  to  Goshen  in  1841,  and 
through  to  Dunkirk  in  1851.  The  Long  Island  Railroad  was 
opened  in  1844,  the  New  York  and  New  Haven  in  1848,  the 
Harlem  to  Chatham  Four  Corners  in  1852,  the  Flushing  in 
1854,  the  Hudson  river  to  Peekskill  in  1849,  and  to  Albany 
in  1851.  All  these  have  greatly  enlarged  the  commerce  and 
growth  of  the  metropolis. 

The  first  telegraphic  communication  with  New  York  was 
established  by  the  Philadelphia  and  Washington  line  in  1845, 
and  was  the  second  in  the  country,  one  having  been  estab- 
lished the  previous  year  between  Washington  and  Baltimore. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  ISLAND, 


101 


CHAPTER  IV. 
NEW  YORK  AS  IT  IS. 


I.  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  ISLAND. 

EW  YORK  Island  is  situated  in  the 
upper  New  York  bay,  eighteen  miles 
Ocean,   at  the 


mouth  of  the  Hudson  river,  which  forms  its 
western  boundary,  is  separated  from  Long 
Island  by  the  East  river,  and  from  the  rest 
of  New  York  State  by  the  Harlem  river  and 
Spuyten  Duyvel  creek.  The  island  is  thirteen 
and  one-half  miles  long,  two  and  one-half  wide 
at  its  extreme  point,  contains  fourteen  thousand 
acres,  and  is  by  survey  divided  into  141,486  lots, 
twenty-five  by  one  hundred  feet  each.  Its  original  surface  was 
diversified  by  broken  rocky  hills,  marshes,  and  ponds  of  water, 
and  by  arable  and  sandy  plains.  The  rocks,  which  consisted 
principally  of  gneiss,  hornblende,  slate,  mica,  limestone,  and 
granite,  have  been,  for  the  most  part,  too  coarse  and  brittle 
for  building  purposes,  but  have  been  employed  to  advantage 
in  grading  and  docking.  A  bold  rocky  ridge,  starting  on 
the  southern  portion,  extended  northward,  branching  off  into 
several  spurs,  which  again  united,  forming  Washington 
Heights,  the  greatest  elevation  anywhere  attained  (two  hun- 
dred and  thirty-eight  feet  above  tide),  and  ending  in  a 
sharp  precipitous  promontory  at  the  northern  extremity  of 
the  island. 

A  body  of  fresh  water  known  as  "  Collect  Pond,"  nearly 
two  miles  in  circumference,  and  fifty  feet  deep,  covered  the 
territory  of  the  present  .Five  Points,  and  the  site  of  the 


102 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


Tombs,  and  was  connected  with  the  Hudson  by  a  deep  outlet 
on  the  line  of  Canal  street,  from  which  the  street  takes  its 
name.  This  lake  was  encircled  with  a  dense  forest,  and  was 
the  resort  of  skating  parties  in  winter,  while  in  summer 
Stevens  and  Fitch  experimented  in  steam  navigation  on  its 
waters  ten  years  before  Fulton's  vessel  skimmed  the  Hudson. 
Deep  rivulets  supplied  by  springs  and  marshes  cut  the  surface 
in  many  directions.  Up  Maiden  lane  flowed  a  deep  inroad 
from  the  bay.  In  the  vicinity  of  Peck  Slip  ran  a  low  water- 
course, which  in  the  wet  season  united  with  the  Collect,  thus 
cutting  off  about  eight  hundred  acres  on  the  lower  point,  into 
a  separate  island.  A  deep  stream  flowed  down  Broad  street, 
up  which  boatmen  came  for  many  years  in  their  canoes  to 
sell  their  oysters.  The  sources  that  supplied  these  lakes  and 
streams  still  exist,  and  these  waters  are  carried  off  through 
numerous  immense  sewers,  covered  deep  in  the  earth,  over 
which  thousands  tread  daily,  unconscious  of  their  existence. 
The  lower  part  of  the  island  has  been  greatly  widened  by 
art ;  the  whole  territory  covered  by  Front  and  Water  streets 
on  the  east  side,  and  by  West,  Greenwich,  and  Washington, 
on  the  west,  including  the  whole  site  of  Washington  Market, 
was  once  swept  by  the  billows  of  the  bay.  The  chills  and 
fever,  with  which  hundreds  of  families  are  afflicted  at  this 
writing,  result  doubtless  from  these  numerous  covered  but 
malarious  marshes. 

Civilization  introduced  gardening  and  farming.  At  the  sur- 
render of  the  Dutch  dynasty  the  city  occupied  only  the  ex- 
treme southern  portion  of  the  island,  a  high  wall,  with  ditch, 
having  been  thrown  across  it  on  the  line  of  Wall  street,  for 
defence.  All  above  this  was  for  several  years  common 
pasture  ground,  but  was  afterwards  divided  into  farms.  The 
Governor's  garden  lay  along  what  is  now  Whitehall  street ;  the 
site  of  St.  Paul's  (Episcopal)  Church  was  a  rich  wheat-field ; 
the  site  of  the  old  New  York  Hospital  was  once  a  fine  or- 
chard; the  Bible  House  and  Cooper  Institute  cover  what  at 
a  later  period  was  devoted  to  luxurious  gardens.   The  central 


POPULATION  AT  DIFFERENT  PERIODS. 


103 


portion  of  the  island  was  during  the  English  colonial  period 
mapped  out  into  rich  productive  farms,  where  men  of  means 
settled,  became  rich,  and  left  their  names  in  the  streets  that 
were  afterwards  constructed. 

The  city  proper  now  extends  from  the  Battery  northward, 
and  is  compactly  built  for  six  miles,  and  irregularly  to  the 
Harlem  river.  The  few  vacant  lots  below  Fifty-ninth  street 
are  being  rapidly  improved,  and  a  vast  amount  of  building  is 
going  on  much  farther  up.  Gardening  is  still  conducted  on 
a  splendid  scale  on  the  upper  portions  of  the  island,  though 
these  green  plots  are  being  constantly  encroached  upon  by 
the  advance  of  the  mason  and  the  joiner.  On  the  west  side, 
through  Bloomingdale,  Manhattanville,  and  Washington 
Heights,  may  be  found  still  some  of  the  old  country  mansions 
and  yards  of  the  good  lang  syne,  and  many  modern  palatial 
residences  glittering  with  costly  splendor. 


II.  POPULATION  AT  DIFFERENT  PERIODS. 


HE  growth  of  the  city  has  been  rapid,  as 
a  few  statistics  will  show.  In  1656  the 
Jij||jj|||  population  amounted  to  1,000,  in  1664 
to  1,500,  in  1700  to  5,000,  in  1750 
to  13,500,  in  1774  to  22,750,  in  1800  to  60,489, 
in  1820  to  123,706,  in  1830  to  202,589,  in  1840 
to  312,932,  in  1850  to  515,547,  and  in  1860 
to  813,669.  In  consequence  of  the  high  prices 
occasioned  by  the  war,  and  the  disorganized 
condition  of  the  various  industrial  pursuits,  the 
census  of  1865  showed  a  decrease  in  the  popula- 
tion, which  amounted  to  726,386.  The  census  returns  of  1870 
place  the  population  of  the  island  at  942,252.  It  is  proba- 
ble that  the  population  of  the  island  will  eventually  reach  a 
million  and  a  half,  and  perhaps  even  more.    Many  portions 


104 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


of  the  city  have  long  since  been  deserted  by  the  better  classes 
of  society,  but  their  departure  has  been  speedily  followed  by 
a  much  denser  packing  of  the  -localities  thus  deserted.  In 
1800  the  fashionable  part  of  the  city  was  in  Wall  and  Pine 
streets,  and  between  Broadway  and  Pearl.  It  has  gradually 
moved  northward,  lingering  in  our  day  long  around  Union 
Square,  which  has  at  last  been  deserted,  and  it  is  difficult 
deciding  where  the  matter  will  end.  When  the  plan  for  the 
erection  of  the  City  Hall  was  made,  about  seventy  years  ago, 
it  was  urged  that  the  city  would  never  extend  above  Cham- 
bers street ;  hence  the  rear  wall  of  the  edifice  was  made  of 
sandstone,  and  not  of  marble  like  the  rest,  because  it  was  said 
it  would  never  be  seen.  To  fill  the  entire  island  and  suburbs, 
would  produce  an  immensely  smaller  change  than  has  already 
occurred  since  that  time.  There  are  now  about  sixty-five 
thousand  buildings  on  the  island,  many  of  which  cover 
several  lots,  and  not  a  few  twenty  or  thirty  each ;  and  as 
fully  one  thousand  acres  are  covered  by  the  parks  and  reser- 
voirs, there  is  not  as  much  vacant  land  remaining  as  many 
writers  have  supposed.  The  vicinity  of  Central  Park  is  now 
considered  the  most  eligible  part  of  the  city ;  but  who  can 
tell  but  even  this  may  yet  become  a  grand  commercial 
theatre,  as  many  places  already  have  which  were  once  held 
sacred  by  a  generation  long  since  departed  ?  Some  sections 
in  the  lower  wards  are  now  packed  with  a  population 
amounting  to  the  appalling  figure  of  two  hundred  and  ninety- 
thousand  to  the  square  mile.  If  this  should  become  general, 
the  island  would  contain  over  six  millions.  Hundreds  of 
residences  are  annually  rising  on  the  upper  parts  of  the 
island,  but  an  equally  large  number  farther  down  are  being 
converted  into  places  of  business ;  and  this,  we  opine,  will 
continue  until  the  entire  island  is  one  vast  centre  of  com- 
merce, manufacture,  and  storage.  Thirty  years  will  proba- 
bly entirely  drive  the  4lite  from  the  island.  The  bridges 
and  tunnels  now  in  immediate  prospect  will  hasten  this 
result,  make  the  surrounding  country  for  miles  the  real  sub- 


STREETS  AND  AVENUES  OF  NEW  YORK.  105 

urbs  of  the  metropolis,  and  fill  it  with  wealth  and  palatial 
splendor.  Already  many  thousands  doing  business  here  daily, 
reside  in  other  places,  not  a. few  thirty,  and  some  fifty  miles 
up  the  Hudson.  It  has  been  estimated  that  two  hundred 
thousand  persons  daily  cross  the  East  river,  while  not  many 
less  cross  on  the  other  side  to  New  Jersey,  Staten  Island,  or 
depart  on  the  railroads  running  north.  The  construction  of 
a  railroad  on  the  west  side  of  the  Hudson,  and  a  bridge 
across  the  East  river,  at  Blackwell's  Island,  will  open  eligible 
sections  for  suburban  residences  hitherto  inaccessible  to  the 
business  public  of  Manhattan.  These  enterprises  cannot 
long  be  delayed. 


in.  STREETS  AND  AVENUES  OF  NEW  YORK. 

THE    PLAN,    THE    PAVEMENTS,  AND    THE    MODES  OF    TRAVEL  WALL 

STREET  BROAD  STREET — BROADWAY — FIFTH  AVENUE  BOULE- 
VARD. 


I  HE  early  settlers  of  Manhattan 
had  no  conception  of  the  propor- 
tions the  town  was  ultimately  to 
assume,  and,  hence,  formed  no 
comprehensive  plan  for  its  outlay. 
In  1656  they  resolved  to  lay  out 
the  streets  of  the  city,  which  was 
done  in  a  most  grotesque  manner. 
Washington  Irving  ludicrously 
describes  the  occurrence  thus: 
"  The  sage  council  not  being  able 
to  determine  upon  any  plan  for  the  building  of  their  city,  the 
cows,  in  a  laudable  fit  of  patriotism,  took  it  under  their  pe- 
culiar charge,  and  as  they  went  to  and  from  pasture,  estab- 
lished paths  through  the  bushes,  on  each  side  of  which  the 


106 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


good  folks  built  their  houses,  which  is  one  cause  of  the 
rambling  and  picturesque  turns  and  labyrinths  which  distin- 
guish certain  streets  of  New  York  at  this  very  day."  Many  of 
the  streets  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city  have  been  straightened 
and  improved  at  vast  expense.  On  the  3d  of  April,  1807, 
an  Act  was  passed,  appointing  Simeon  Dewitt,  Gouverneur 
Morris,  and  John  Eutherford,  to  lay  out  by  careful  survey 
the  whole  island,  which  was  accordingly  done,  and  the  map 
of  the  same  filed  in  the  secretary's  office  in  March,  1811. 
To  the  commendable  forethought  of  these  gentlemen  is  the 
city  indebted  for  the  admirable  arrangement  of  its  uptown 
streets  and  avenues.  This  survey  extended  to  One  Hundred 
and  Fifty-fourth  street,  but  it  has  since  been  extended  to 
Kings  Bridge.  Below  Fourteenth  street  much  irregularity 
still  exists  in  the  streets,  and  probably  always  will,  to  the 
infinite  perplexity  of  strangers ;  but  above  that  point  the 
avenues  and  streets  run  at  right  angles  to  each  other,  the 
direction  of  the  former  being  nearly  north  and  south,  and  the 
latter  east  and  west,  from  river  to  river,  and  numbering  each 
way  from  Fifth  avenue.  The  avenues  number  from  south 
to  north. 

The  streets,  avenues,  squares,  and  places  on  Manhattan 
now  number  nearly  seven  hundred,  about  three  hundred 
miles  of  which  are  paved,  and  are  illuminated  at  night  by 
about  nineteen  thousand  gas  lamps.  The  first  pavements 
were  laid  in  what  is  now  Stone  street,  between  Broad  and 
Whitehall  streets,  in  1658.  Bridge  street  was  paved  the  same 
year,  and  several  others  running  through  marshy  sections  soon 
after.  These  pavements  were  of  cobble-stone,  without  side- 
walks, and  with  wooden  gutters  running  through  the  centre 
of  the  streets.  Broadway  was  paved  in  this  manner,  in  1707, 
from  Trinity  Church  to  Bowling  Green. 

In  1790  the  first  sidewalks  on  Manhattan  were  laid.  They 
extended  along  Broadway,  from  Yesey  to  Murray  street,  and 
on  the  opposite  side  for  the  same  distance  along  the  Bride- 
well fence.    These  were  narrow  pavements  of  brick,  flag- 


STREETS  AND  AVENUES  OF  NEW  YORK. 


107 


stone  being  yet  unknown  to  the  authorities.  !No  plan  for 
numbering  the  streets  was  considered  until  1793,  when  a 
crude  system  was  introduced.  The  old  cobble-stone  pave- 
ments have  been  succeeded  by  the  Belgian  or  square-stone ; 
and  of  late  the  Nicolson  and  the  Stafford,  different  styles  of 
wooden,  have  been  introduced.  A  concrete  pavement,  com- 
posed of  gravel,  broken  stone,  cinders,  coal  ashes,  mixed  in 
definite  proportions  with  tar,  pitch,  resin,  and  asphaltum, 
has  been  spread  over  the  streets,  with  tolerable  success  in 
some  instances,  and  perfect  failure  in  others.  Eighty-five 
miles  of  the  Belgian  have  been  laid,  which  probably  gives  the 
best  satisfaction  of  any  introduced.  It  consists  of  blocks  of 
bluish  trap-rock,  made  slightly  pyramidal  in  form,  and  set  in 
sand  with  the  base  upward.    It  is  very  even  and  durable. 

The  avenues,  from  First  to  Twelfth,  numbering  from  the 
East  river,  are  designed  to  be  eight  miles  long  (except  the 
Sixth  and  Seventh,  which  are  cut  off  by  Central  Park),  are 
one  hundred  feet  wide  (except  Lexington  and  Madison, 
which  are  eighty  feet),  and  one  thousand  feet  apart.  The 
cross  streets  are  from  one  mile  to  two  and  a  half  miles  in 
length,  sixty  feet  wide  (except  one  in  ten,  which  is  one  hun- 
dred), and  two  hundred  and  sixty  feet  apart.  The  first  city 
railroad  was  constructed  in  1852,  and  opened  with  great  cere- 
mony, the  President  of  the  United  States  officiating.  There 
are  now  seventeen  lines  of  horse  cars,  and  numerous  omnibus 
lines,  which  carry  in  the  aggregate  a  hundred  million  passen- 
gers annually.  These  run  continuously  in  all  directions, 
though  most  of  them  pass  or  terminate  near  the  City  Hall, 
which  is  still  the  great  centre  of  business  attraction.  The 
one  hundred  and  ten  monthly  magazines,  the  thirteen  daily, 
and  the  two  hundred  and  forty  weekly,  newspapers  are  nearly 
all  printed  within  sight  of  the  City  Hall,  Park  Row  and 
Printing  House  square  producing  many  of  them. 

The  City  Hall,  the  centre  of  the  city  government,  the 
Court  House,  the  Hall  of  Records,  the  printing,  the  general 
Post  Office,  the  principal  wholesaling,  insurance,  and  banking 


108 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


houses,  being  clustered  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city,  make  it 
the  business  centre  toward  which  everything  still  converges. 
The  principal  ferries  to  New  Jersey,  Staten  Island,  and 
Brooklyn  make  their  landings  opposite  this  locality ;  and  op- 
posite this  point  is  now  being  constructed  the  lofty  East 
river  bridge.  Streets  in  this  locality  are  crowded  with  cars, 
carriages,  omnibuses,  loaded  carts,  and  wagons  of  every  de- 
scription, from  dawn  'till  dark,  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  heat 
and  storm  but  slightly  interfering  with  the  busy  programme. 
Bankers,  merchants,  clerks,  agents,  in  fine,  persons  of  both 
sexes,  and  of  every  age,  calling,  and  country,  go  rushing  by 
with  such  rapidity  that  the  modest  countryman,  though  anx 
ions  to  cross  one  of  these  surging  thoroughfares,  finds  himself 
much  in  the  situation  of  the  rustic  in  Horace,  who  stood  wait- 
ing on  the  bank  for  the  river  to  run  by. 

The  two  principal  lines  of  uptown  travel  are  through  Hud- 
son street  and  Eighth  avenue  on  the  west,  and  Bowery  and 
Third  avenue  on  the  east.  The  elevated  railroad,  the  track 
laid  on  iron  posts  about  sixteen  feet  above  the  pavement, 
passes  up  Greenwich  street  and  Ninth  avenue.  Various 
methods  for  securing  rapid  transit  are  being  agitated  at  this 
time.  The  plan  for  the  "  Pneumatic  Tunnel "  involves  the 
construction  of  an  underground  road,  commencing  at  South 
Ferry,  extending  under  Broadway  to  Central  Park  and  above 
that  point,  together  with  a  Fourth  avenue  branch  to  Harlem 
river.  The  company  claim  that,  when  the  road  is  completed, 
they  will  be  able  to  transport  more  than  twenty  thousand 
persons  per  hour  each  way. 

The  "  Underground  Iiailroad"  proper,  is  another  inde- 
pendent and  separate  enterprise. 

The  "  Arcade  Railway"  if  constructed,  contemplates  the 
use  of  the  width  of  the  streets  and  avenues  under  which  it 
passes,  excepting  five  feet  on  each  side,  to  secure  the  founda- 
tions of  the  buildings.  The  road  will  contain  sidewalks, 
roadway,  lamp  posts,  telegraph  wires,  hydrants,  and  sewers, 
the  whole  covered  with  arches  of  solid  masonry,  rendered 


THE  BROADWAY  PNEUMATIC  UNDERGROUND  RAILWAY. 


WALL  STREET. 


109 


water-tight,  and  supported  by  heavy  iron  columns.  The 
routes  selected  are  the  line  of  Broadway  from  the  Battery  to 
the  intersection  of  Ninth  avenue,  thence  to  Hudson  river ; 
also  branching  at  Union  square,  and  following  the  line  of 
Fourth  avenue  to  the  Harlem  river.  It  is  estimated  to  cost 
over  $2,000,000. 

The  "  Viaduct  Railway  "  is  another  style  of  elevated  road. 
This  wealthy  company  proposes  to  erect  its  lower  depot  at 
Tryon  Row,  causing  its  road  to  form  an  easy  connection  with 
the  East  river  bridge.  This  road,  if  constructed,  will  run 
through  the  rear  of  the  blocks,  have  a  line  on  the  east- 
ern and  one  on  the  western  side  of  the  city,  each  extend- 
ing to  "Westchester  County.  It  is  to  be  built  on  brick 
irches,  supported  by  heavy  iron  columns,  which  will  them- 
selves stand  on  inverted  arches  of  solid  masonry  constructed 
in  the  ground.  It  is  estimated  to  cost  from  $10,000,000  to 
$20,000,000.  One  of  these  roads  is  certain  to  be  constructed 
at  no  distant  day. 

Nassau,  a  narrow  and  gloomy  street,  has  long  been  the 
trade  centre  of  cheap  and  miscellaneous  books,  though  much 
of  this  has  lately  found  its  way  up  town. 

WALL  STREET. 

"Wall,  a  short  and  crooked  street,  though  immensely 
straighter  than  many  who  spend  their  time  in  it,  is  the  great 
financial  centre  of  the  country,  and  is  lined  for  the  most 
part  with  magnificent  banking-houses.  On  the  corner  of 
Nassau,  stretching  from  Wall  to  Pine,  and  fronting  on  each, 
stands  what  was  originally  the  Custom  House,  now  the  Sub- 
Treasury,  a  white-marble  fire-proof  building,  ninety  feet  by 
two  hundred,  with  a  rotunda  sixty  feet  in  diameter,  the  dome 
supported  by  sixteen  Corinthian  pillars.  The  building  occu- 
pies the  site  of  the  old  Federal  Hall,  where  President  Wash- 
ington was  inaugurated  ;  it  is  a  partial  imitation  of  the  Par- 
thenon at  Athens,  and  cost  nearly  twelve  hundred  thousand 

8 


110 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


dollars.  Here  the  Government  deposits  its  one  hundred 
millions  of  gold,  and  here  its  great  monetary  transactions  are 
made.  In  the  basement  is  the  pension  bureau.  Farther 
down,  and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street,  stands  what  was 
built  for  the  Merchants'  Exchange.  It  covers  an  entire 
block ;  its  portico  is  supported  by  twelve  front,  four  centre, 
and  two  rear  Ionic  columns  thirty-eight  feet  long,  four  and 
a  half  in  diameter,  each  formed  from  a  single  granite  block 
weighing  forty-five  tons.  The  rotunda  is  eighty  feet  in 
diameter,  and  the  crown  of  the  dome,  which  rests  on  eight 
Corinthian  columns  of  Italian  marble,  is  one  hundred  and 
twenty-four  feet  high.  It  was  built  many  years  ago,  by  an 
incorporated  company,  and  cost  §1,800,000.  It  was  pur- 
chased by  the  Government  several  years  since  for  $1,000,000 
and  is  now  the  United  States  Custom  House.  As  London  is 
England,  so,  in  a  sense,  Wall  street  is  New  York,  if  not 
America.  Here  "Bears"  and  "Bulls"  in  sheep's  clothing 
meet  in  frequent  and  fierce  rencounter,  and  alternately  claw 
and  gore  each  other.  Beneath  the  frowns  of  the  lofty  spire 
of  old  Trinit}r,  these  calculating  votaries  of  mammon  play  with 
fortunes  as  boys  do  with  bubbles,  and  while  a  few  rise  and  soar^ 
many  decline  and  burst.  "Wall  street  seldom  contains  above 
fifteen  millions  of  gold  outside  the  Sub -Treasury,  but  the  nec- 
essary and  speculative  transactions  in  this  alone  amount  daily 
to  seventy  millions,  and  on  the  24th  of  September,  18G9, 
amounted  to  several  hundred  millions,  one  broker  alone  pur- 
chasing to  the  amount  of  sixty  millions.  The  gold  transac- 
tions of  1869  are  said  to  have  reached  thirty  billions,  and  the 
aggregate  business  of  Governments  and  stocks,  to  have  also 
exceeded  twenty  billions.  The  rapidity  with  which  money  is 
counted,  and  vast  amounts  of  stocks,  bonds,  and  miscellaneous 
securities  exchanged,  is  perfectly  astonishing.  Most  of  the 
counter-trade  is  performed  by  young  men  and  striplings,  the 
advanced  and  calculating  minds  spending  most  of  their  time  in 
the  private  office.    The  most  crowded  and  busy  centres  of 


BROAD  STREET — BROADWAY. 


Ill 


New  York  appear  cheap  and  tame,  after  spending  an  honr  in 
Wall  street. 

BROAD  STREET. 

The  continuation  of  the  narrow  Nassau  proper  south  of 
"Wall  street,  having  all  at  once  strangely  widened,  is  called 
Broad  street.  During  the  last  few  years  brokers  and  specu- 
lators of  every  description  have  crowded  into  its  silent  pre- 
cincts, until  it  has  become  the  most  noisy  and  tumultuous 
speculative  centre  on  the  island.  Here  stands  the  elegant 
marble  structure  containing  the  far-famed,  gorgeously  fur- 
nished Gold  Room,  where  the  daily  sales  take  place,  often 
amid  such  excitement  and  din  as  we  cannot  describe.  The 
Board  of  Brokers  was  organized  in  1794,  and  the  entrance 
fee  has  risen  from  fifty  dollars  to  three  thousand.  The  Board 
numbers  about  four  hundred  and  seventy  members  in  good 
standing.  Each  member  has  a  safe  in  the  vault,  with  a 
combination  lock.  The  Board  claims  to  be  composed  of 
honest  and  honorable  men  only.  Besides  this  there  are  various 
other  specific  boards  of  all  kinds  of  speculators — stock-brokers 
gold-brokers,  oil-brokers,  and  cliques — uniting  and  dissolving 
as  occasion  may  offer  opportunities  of  gain  to  ambitious 
and  unscrupulous  men.  Among  these  originate  the  gold 
scrambles,  the  railroad  wars,  the  raid  on  the  banks,  and  other 
panics  which  crowd  the  streets  with  well-dressed,  but  frenzied 
men,  some  flushed  and  violent,  some  pale  and  staggering, 
turning  prematurely  gray  over  the  wreck  of  their  earthly 
hopes. 

BROADWAY. 

Broadway  begins  at  Castle  Garden,  the  extreme  southern 
point  of  Manhattan,  unites  at  the  Central  Park  with  the 
Boulevard,  making  the  longest  street  on  the  island,  thirteen 
and  one-half  miles,  and  is  lighted  by  over  one  thousand  gas 
lamps.    This  street  is  eighty  feet  wide,  and  contains  many 


112 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


of  the  principal  business  houses,  hotels,  and  places  of  amuse- 
ment. Not  a  few  of  these  cover  an  entire  block,  are  built  of 
marble  or  iron,  are  five,  six,  and  sometimes  seven  stories  above 
ground,  and  two  below,  with  well-lighted  vaults  extending  to 
near  the  centre  of  the  streets.  Broadway  is  the  glittering 
promenade  of  wealth,  beauty,  fashion,  and  curiosity. 

FIFTH  AVENUE. 

While  Eighth  avenue  is  the  principal  avenue  for  business 
purposes,  "Fifth,  avenue  is  distinguished  for  the  splendor  of 
its  private  residences,  to  which,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
magnificent  churches  and  institutions,  it  is  entirely  devoted. 
It  begins  at  Washington  square,  near  the  centre  of  the  city, 
and  extends  northward  in  a  perfectly  straight  line  for  six 
miles,  and  is  pre-eminently  the  street  of  palaces.  The  build- 
ings are  large,  constructed  of  marble,  or  of  the  several  varie- 
ties of  free-stone,  the  fronts  ornamented  with  cornices, 
entablatures,  porticos,  and  columns,  elegantly  carved  and 
sculptured.  Everything  is  massive  and  expensive,  and  the 
surrounding  streets  so  far  partake  of  its  magnificence  that 
one  may  travel  miles  amid  unbroken  lines  of  palatial  splen- 
dor. Here  dwell  the  millionaires  who  control  so  largely  the 
shipping,  the  railroad,  the  banking,  and  the  legislative  inter- 
ests of  the  country.  Much  unoccupied  space  still  remains 
on  this  peerless  avenue  for  wealth  and  genius  to  lavish  their 
dazzling  inventions.  For  the  relief  of  Broadway,  Laurens 
street  is  now  being  widened  and  made  to  connect  Fifth  ave- 
nue with  West  Broadway.  This  opens  another  general 
thoroughfare  for  uptown  travel,  and  will  probably  attract  its 
share  of  business  firms.  It  will  greatly  disturb  the  quiet  and, 
mar  the  beauty  of  the  lower  portion  of  this  brilliant  avenue, 
and  already  a  number  of  its  palaces,  near  Union  square, 
have  been  converted  into  business  houses. 


THE  BOULEVARD. 


\Ve  live  in  a  fast  age,  and  New  Yorkers  are  a  fast  people « 
hence,  it  seemed  intolerable  to  some  that  the  law  regulating 
driving  at  the  Park  should  restrict  every  man  to  six  miles  an 
hour,  and  arrest  summarily  every  blood  who  dared  to  disre- 
gard the  rule.  Nor  was  the  private  trotting  course  between 
the  Park  and  High  Bridge  adequate  to  the  demand.  A 
great  public  drive,  broad  and  long,  where  hundreds  of  fleet 
horses  could  be  exercised  in  a  single  hour,  was  the  demand 
that  came  welling  up  from  the  hearts  of  thousands.  One 
was  accordingly  laid  out  on  the  line  of  the  old  Eloomingdale 
Poad,  beginning  at  Fifty-ninth  street  with  an  immense  circle 
for  turning  vehicles.  On  the  21st  of  September,  1868,  the 
work  of  grading  commenced ;  and  during  1869  an  average 
force  of  740  men  was  employed.  This  street  extends  from 
Fifty-ninth  to  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-fifth  street,  a  distance 
of  about  five  miles,  is  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  wide,  with 
a  narrow  line  of  shrubbery  and  flowers  extending  through 
the  centre,  defended  by  solid  curbstones.  In  the  construc- 
tion of  this  street  it  was  found  necessary  to  remove,  by  exca 
vation  and  blasting,  350,000  cubic  yards  of  rock  and  earth, 
and  to  provide  and  deposit  300,000  cubic  yards  in  certain 
depressed  localities,  to  perfect  the  grade.  The  bed  of  the 
street  is  formed  of  set  stone,  covered  with  pounded  stone, 
after  which  it  is  graveled,  rolled,  and  the  surface  otherwise 
improved.  The  sidewalks  are  very  capacious.  This  street 
is  expected  to  be  one  of  the  later  wonders  of  Manhattan,  and 
land  is  held  at  fabulous  prices  along  its  entire  length. 


114 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


IY. 


THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  MANHATTAN. 


HOTELS,    ASTOR     HOUSE — FIFTH     AVENUE  ST.      NICHOLAS — GRAND 

CENTRAL  COOPER  INSTITUTE  ACADEMY  OF  DESIGN  THEATERS  

AMERICAN  BIBLE    HOUSE  PUBLISHING    HOUSES  THE    PARK  BANK 

LIFE  INSURANCE  BUILDINGS  CITY  HALL  NEW  YORK  COURT- 
HOUSE NEW    YORK     POST-OFFICE  STORES  :    A.    T.  STEWART'S  

CLAFLIN'S  LORD     &     TAYLOR^  TIFFANY     &     CO.  NUMBER  OF 

BUILDINGS. 

jfKBJHE  architecture  of  Manhattan  has 
|H§jjj<  p  greatly  varied  in  the  different  periods 
0f  its  history.  As  in  all  new  settle- 
ments where  timber  abounds,  the  first  build- 
ings were  constructed  of  logs.  Indeed, 
nothing  else  appears  to  have  been  employed 
until  1647,  when  the  first  stone  house  was  finished, 
an  event  of  such  transcendent  importance,  that 
the  generous  Dutch  celebrated  it  by  drinking  one 
hundred  and  twenty-eight  gallons  of  liquor  on  the 
occasion.  During  the  first  forty  years  after  the 
settlement  of  Manhattan,  the  old  Holland  style  of  architec- 
ture entirely  prevailed.  Some  of  these  buildings  had  narrow 
foundations,  wTith  high  peaked  roofs  ;  others  were  broader  at 
their  base,  one,  and  sometimes  two  stories  high ;  the  gables, 
which  always  faced  the  streets,  were  sometimes  of  brick,  but 
oftener  of  shingles  rounded  at  the  end.  Many  of  the  roofs 
were  bevelled,  projecting  at  the  eaves  sufficiently  to  shelter  a 
small  regiment  of  troops.  The  gutters  of  many  of  the  houses 
extended  to  near  the  centre  of  the  streets,  to  the  great  an- 
noyance of  travelers  in  rainy  weather.  The  front  entrance 
was  usually  ornamented  with  a  high  wooden  porch  called  a 
stoop,  where  the  women  spent  the  shady  part  of  the  day. 


THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  MANHATTAN. 


115 


The  more  important  buildings  such  as  the  "  Stuyvesant  Huijs" 
near  the  water  edge,  now  Moore  and  Front  streets,  and  the 

Stadt-Huys  "  or  City  Hall,  on  Pearl  street,  were  set  in  the 
foreground,  to  be  more  readily  seen  from  the  river  and  bay. 
The  first  buildings  erected  on  Wall  street  were  block-houses. 

But  if  this  Holland  style  lacked  elegance,  it  possessed  the 
merit  of  durability.  One  in  a  fine  state  of  preservation 
taken  down  in  1827,  was  marked  1698,  and  many  after  stand- 
ing more  than  one  hundred  years  showed  no  signs  of  decay. 
The  last  of  these  Knickerbockers  has  now  disappeared  from 
Manhattan,  though  they  still  linger  on  Long  Island,  and  up 
the  Hudson.  The  English  conquest  introduced  a  greater 
variety,  which  has  continued  to  change  and  multiply  its  forms 
until  the  present  time.  As  early  as  1670,  stone  and  brick 
were  principally  employed  ;  iron,  so  extensively  used  at  pres- 
ent, has  been  introduced  during  the  last  thirty  years.  A 
builder  in  Water  street,  about  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution, 
exchanged  leaden  sash  for  wooden,  a  novelty  too  great  for 
the  times,  for  the  trustees  of  Trinity  after  the  great  fire  of 
1778  still  retained  the  leaden  frame. 

The  architecture  at  present  may  be  said  to  be  thoroughly 
eclectic,  as  nearly  every  style  known  to  the  student  may  be 
found,  several  at  times  blending,  in  the  same  edifice.  Trin- 
ity church  on  Broadway,  is  of  the  Gothic;  St.  George's  in 
Stuyvesant  square,  of  the  Byzantine ;  St.  Paul's  Methodist 
Episcopal,  on  Fourth  avenue,  is  of  the  Romanesque ;  the  City 
Hall  is  of  the  Italian ;  the  Tombs  of  the  Egyptian ;  while  the 
Synagogues  present  the  Moresque,  and  the  distinctive  form  of 
the  Hebrew  style. 

Hotels. — The  hotels  form  an  important  part  of  every  large 
town,  and  in  many  instances  one  of  their  chief  attractions. 
What  would  Clifton,  or  Saratoga,  or  New  York  be  to  the 
great  traveling  public,  without  their  hotels.  The  hotels  of 
New  York  rank  among  the  largest  and  finest  in  the  world^ 
Among  them  may  be  mentioned  the  Astor,  Metropolitan,  St. 
Nicholas,  St.  James,  St.  Cloud,  Hoffman,  Everett,  Claren- 


116 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


don,  New  York,  Fifth  Avenue,  Grand  Central,  Gilsey,  and  a 
hundred  more,  many  of  which  are  of  equal  notoriety. 


FIFTH  AVENUE  HOTEL. 


The  Astor  House  was  erected  in  1836,  by  John  Jacob 
Astor,  then  the  richest  man  in  America.  It  is  a  six-story 
granite,  on  Broadway,  overlooking  the  City  Hall  Park,  and 
covers  the  spot  where  Mr.  Astor  resided  during  most  of  his 
business  life.  The  front  extends  across  a  narrow  block,  and 
the  building  affords  accommodations  for  six  hundred  guests. 
Architecture  on  Manhattan  has  so  decidedly  improved  since 
its  erection,  that  its  glory  has  long  since  departed.  Its  exte- 
rior appears  sombre  and  heavy,  its  windows  are  small  and 
unadorned,  no  balcony  or  colonnade  tempts  the  inmates  into 
public  view,  and  its  single  massive  entrance  is  not  really  in- 
viting. Under  the  management  of  the  Stetsons  it  has,  how- 
ever, long  ranked  among  the  very  first  hotels  of  America. 


THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  MANHATTAN. 


117 


Fifth  Avenue  hotel  stands  opposite  Madison  square,  at 
the  junction  of  Broadway,  Fifth  avenue,  and  Twenty-third 
street.  The  structure  is  of  white  marble,  six  stories  high, 
fronting  on  three  streets,  and  after  devoting,  as  is  the  custom, 
most  of  its  first  floor  to  stores,  has  accommodations  for  a 
thousand  guests.  It  is  beautifully  located  and  forms  a  rich 
center  of  fashion  and  speculation.  It  was  erected  and  is 
still  owned  by  Mr.  Amos  K.  Eno,  formerly  a  New-England 
youth  and  the  architect  of  his  own  fortune. 

The  St.  Nicholas,  opened  in  1854,  stands  on  Broadway, 
between  Broome  and  Spring  streets.  The  structure  is  of 
white  marble  and  brown  freestone,  is  six  stories  high,  witli  six 
hundred  rooms,  and  can  accommodate  a  thousand  persons. 
The  St.  Nicholas  is  also  a  richly  furnished  hotel,  conducted 
on  the  American  or  full-board  plan,  and  has  been  the  theater 
of  many  brilliant  occasions. 

The  Grand  Central  hotel,  opened  August  24,  1870,  is  the 
largest  in  the  United  States.  It  stands  on  Broadway  between 
Amity  and  Bleecker  streets,  with  a  frontage  of  175  feet,  and 
extends  to  Mercer  street,  being  200  feet  in  depth.  It  covers 
the  ground  once  occupied  by  the  Lafarge  House,  afterwards 
the  Southern  Hotel  and  the  Winter  Garden  Theatre.  The 
edifice  is  constructed  of  brick  and  marble,  is  ten  stories  high, 
and  covers  fourteen  full  lots,  for  some  of  which  Mr.  Higgins 
paid  eighty-three  thousand  dollars  apiece.  The  dining-room 
affords  space  for  600  persons  to  sit  at  table  at  once;  the 
plate  and  furniture  are  magnificent,  costing  half  a  million, 
and  the  arrangements  for  observation,  health,  and  comfort, 
the  most  exquisite.  The  building  is  127  feet  high  at  the 
cornice,  which  is  surmounted  by  a  heavy  Mansard  roof,  the 
top  of  the  flag-staff  being  197  feet  above  the  pavement. 
Thirty  miles  of  steam  coil  are  employed  in  heating  the  edi- 
fice, the  floors  amount  to  350,000  square  feet,  requiring  seven 
acres  of  carpeting,  besides  an  acre  of  marble  tiling ;  and  the 
cooks,  waiters,  chambermaids,  hallmen,  and  clerks  amount  to 


118 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


GRAKD  CENTRAL  HOTEL,  BROADWAY,  OPPOSITE  BOND  STREET. 


a  small  brigade.  The  price  of  board  is  $3,  $3.50,  and  $4  per 
day. 

Cooper  Institute,  a  fine  six-story  brown-stone,  covering  a 
block  between  Seventh  and  Eighth  streets,  Third  and  Fourth 
avenues,  is  a  munificent  donation  from  the  man  whose  name 
it  bears,  and  cost  nearly  half  a  million.  Its  enlightened  pro- 
jector grew  up  in  poverty,  with  scanty  means  of  culture,  and 
the  building  is  the  fruit  of  frugal  toil,  coupled  with  a  long- 
cherished  desire  to  promote  a  knowledge  of  science  and  art 
among  the  laboring  classes.  It  contains  vast  halls  for  lec- 
tures, a  fine  reading-room,  evening-schools  for  young  ladies, 
mechanics,  and  apprentices,  galleries  of  art,  and  collections  of 
rare  inventions.  The  large  lecture-room  in  the  basement  is 
the  most  popular  public  hall  in  the  city,  and  has  echoed  to 


THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  MANHATTAN.  119 


COOPER  UNION. 

(Eighth  street,  between  Third  and  Fourth  avenues.) 


the  eloquence  of  the  most  noted  men  of  this  country,  and 
many  from  Europe.  It  was  in  this  hall  that  Red  Cloud  de- 
livered his  great  address  in  the  early  summer  of  1870.  The 
first  floor  of  the  building  is  rented  for  stores,  and  brings  an 
income  of  nearly  thirty  thousand  dollars. 

The  Free  Night  Classes  in  Cooper  Union  had  an  average 
attendance  during  February,  1871,  as  follows:  School  of  Sci- 
ence, 276;  School  of  Art,  643;  School  of  Telegraphy,  35; 
Scientific  Lectures,  545 ;  Oratory  Class,  100  ;  total,  1,569. 
The  new  classes  in  English  literature  and  the  French  lan- 
guage were  attended  by  200  and  100,  respectively,  bringing 
up  the  general  total  of  attendance  to  over  1,800.  The  School 
of  Design  for  girls  and  women  has  been  attended  by  over 
eighty  daily,  and  that  of  Engraving  for  women  by  26.  The 


120 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


number  of  visitors  to  the  free  reading-room  was 29,383  ;  num- 
ber of  books  used,  4,509. 


ACADEMY  OF  DESIGN. 


The  Academy  of  Design,  on  the  corner  of  Fourth  avenue 
and  Twenty-third  street,  though  not  particularly  large,  is  still 
a  building  before  which  the  observer  will  pause,  to  glance  at 
its  Gothic  windows  and  marble  walls  of  many  colors,  col- 
lected from  various  parts  of  Europe  and  America.  The  vis- 
itor is  not  slow  to  conclude  that  the  exterior  is,  indeed,  one  of 
design. 

Theaters. — The  first  building  erected  for  a  theater  on  the 
island  was  in  1761,  and  opened  with  the  tragedy  of  "Fair 
Penitent."  The  mob  destroyed  it  during  the  excitement  oc- 
casioned by  the  "Stamp  Act,"  in  1766.  The  business  has 
proved  so  profitable,  that,  notwithstanding  the  fearful  havoc 
made  among  these  houses  of  wicked  amusement  by  fires  and 
other  casualties,  they  have  always  been  too  numerous,  and  far 


The  Astor  Library— Lafayette  Place,  near  6th  Street. 
(The  above  cut  represents  but  half  the  present  building.) 


THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  MANHATTAN. 


121 


BOOTH'S  THEATER. 

too  largely  patronized  for  the  interests  of  good  morals. 
About  twenty  houses  of  this  kind  are  now  maintained  ;  many 
of  them  are  of  costly  constructure,  the  Academy  of  Music, 
Fisk's  Grand  Opera  House,  Booth's  New  Theater,  Niblo's,  and 
"Wallack's  ranking  among  the  first. 

The  Astor  Library  Building,  in  Lafayette  Place,  with  an 
imposing  entablature,  marble  steps  and  floor,  is  the  largest 
and  finest  library- room  in  America.  It  was  projected  by  the 
bequest  of  John  Jacob  Astor,  and  afterwards  enlarged  by 
his  son  William  B.  Astor.  The  accompanying  cut  represents 
the  original  structure  and  but  half  of  the  building  as  it  now 
stands. 

The  American  Bible  House,  a  plain  six-story  brick,  with 
cellar  and  vaults,  was  completed  in  1853,  at  a  cost,  including 
ground,  of  §303,000.  It  covers  three-fourths  of  an  acre,  form- 

9 


122 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


ing  a  front  on  four  streets,  of  710  feet.  The  fronts  on  Fourth 
avenue  and  Astor  place  are  divided  into  five  sections  each. 
The  principal  entrance  on  Fourth  avenue  is  decorated  with 
four  round  columns  with  Corinthian  capitals  and  moulded 
bases,  resting  upon  paneled  and  moulded  pedestals,  and  semi- 
circular arches  are  placed  between  the  columns  to  form  the 
heads  of  doors,  and  all  surmounted  with  a  heavy  cornice  and 
segment  pediments.  The  boilers  are  placed  in  the  area  in  the 
centre  of  the  building,  so  inclosed  as  not  likely  to  endanger 
the  operatives  in  case  of  accident.  Fifty  stores  and  offices 
are  rented  in  the  building,  mostly  to  benevolent  societies, 
bringing  an  income  of  nearly  $40,000,  and  making  the  Bible 
House  the  principal  centre  of  benevolent  and  reformatory 
movements  for  the  city  and  State.  The  Society  was  organized 
in  1816,  since  which  its  receipts  have  considerably  exceeded 
$5,000,000.  It  has  printed  the  Scriptures  in  twenty-nine  dia- 
lects, assisted  in  publishing  and  circulating  many  of  the  one 
hundred  and  eighty-five  versions  issued  by  the  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society,  and  has  three  times  canvassed  the  en- 
tire United  States,  supplying  hundreds  of  thousands  of  desti- 
tute families  with  the  Word  of  God.  The  Society  employs 
about  five  hundred  hands,  and  carries  on  every  branch  of  its 
vast  business  in  its  own  building.  The  Bible  House  is  visited 
annually  by  thousands  of  strangers,  and  can  scarcely  cease  to 
be  an  object  of  profoundest  interest. 

The  Publishing  Houses  of  New  York  form  an  imposing 
and  interesting  department  of  the  city.  The  buildings  of  the 
Harpers,  the  Appletons,  and  of  Charles  Scribner  &  Co.,  are 
very  extensive.  The  new  Methodist  Publishing  and  Mission 
Buildings,  corner  of  Broadway  and  Eleventh  street,  are  the 
headquarters  of  the  most  extensive  denominational  publish- 
ing interests  in  the  world.  The  enterprise  began  in  Philadel- 
phia in  1789,  with  a  borrowed  capital  of  $600.  In  1804  it 
was  removed  to  New  York,  and  in  1836  was  destroyed  by  fire, 
inflicting  a  loss  of  $250,000  upon  the  denomination.  Besides 
paying  for  various  church  interests  $1,335,866.25,  the  agents 


THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  MANHATTAN 


123 


in  1868  reported  a  net  capital  of  $1,165,624.55,  which  has 
since  been  increased  to  over  $1,500,000.    The  new  buildings 


METHODIST  PUBL1&H1.NG  AMi>  MJS.S10N  BU1LDIKQ. 

(Broadway,  corner  Eleventh  street.) 


on  Broadway  were  purchased  in  April,  1869,  and  cost  nearly 
a  million  dollars.  The  structure  is  of  iron,  with  five  lofty 
stories,  and  a  basement  which  extends  nineteen  feet  under 
Broadway  and  fourteen  feet  under  Eleventh  street,  and  has  a 
floor  of  nearly  half  an  acre.  Besides  furnishing  salerooms 
for  books  and  periodicals,  elegant  offices  for  agents,  editors, 
missionary  secretaries,  rooms  for  committees,  preachers'  meet- 
ings, etc.,  etc.,  enough  is  still  rented  to  pay  the  interest  on  the 
cost  of  the  entire  building. 

Many  of  the  periodicals  of  Xew  York  are  issued  from 
colossal  iron-fronted  structures,  which  would  have  been  an 
astonishment  to  our  fathers.  The  Herald  building,  covering 
the  site  of  Barnum's  old  museum,  is  perhaps  among  the  finest 


124 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


G    Times  buildlll^, 

erected  several  years 
earlier,  is  another  fine  structure,  occupying  a  commanding 
position  at  the  head  of  Park  Row.  that  ominous  center  of 
compositors  and  printing  ink.    Near  by  stands  Printing- 


HEW  YORK  TIERALD  BUILDING  AND  PARK  BANK. 

(proadtoap,  come,  Ann  street.) 

House  square,  in  or  around  which  are  published  the  Tribune, 
World,  Observer,  Sun,  Day-Booh,  Examiner  and  Chronicle, 
Scientific  American,  Evening  Mail,  Baptist  Union,  Rural 
ilfew  Yorker,  Independent,  the  Agriculturist,  Methodist, 
Christian  Union,  etc. 


THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  MANHATTAN. 


125 


The  I'ark  Bank,  adjoining  the  Herald  building  and  facing 
St.  Paul's  (Episcopal)  church,  is  an  elaborate  and  colossal  mar- 
ble structure,  erected  at  vast  expense,  and  forms  one  of  the 
most  striking  architectural  wonders  on  lower  Broadway.  The 
interior  is  if  possible  more  exquisite  in  its  appointments  than 
the  exterior.  The  offices  and  business  parlors  of  its  chief 
officers  are  cushioned  and  otherwise  gilded  and  adorned  in 
the  richest  manner. 

The  Life  Insurance  Companies  have  of  late  virtually  un- 
dertaken to  excel  all  others  in  architectural  enterprises.  The 
building  just  reared  by  the  Equitable  Life  Insurance  Com- 
pany, on  the  corner  of  Cedar  street  and  Broadway,  is  an  ex- 
ample of  what  men  and  money  can  accomplish,  and  may  be 
termed  one  of  the  later  wonders  of  Manhattan.  It  has  a 
frontage  of  S7  feet  on  Broadway,  is  187  feet  deep  on  Cedar 
street,  and  is  137  feet  high.  Its  massive  iron  columns  and 
substantial  construction  give  the  surest  evidence  of  perman- 
ency. 

The  building  of  the  New  York  Life  Insurance  Company, 
corner  of  Broadway  and  Leonard  street,  is  scarcely  less  strik- 
ing. It  is  constructed  of  white  marble  in  the  Ionic  order,  its 
chief  entrance-way  being  richly  ornamented.  The  public 
need  not  be  alarmed  at  the  report  of  the  millions  lavished 
by  the  managers  of  these  companies  on  imposing  business 
temples,  as  the  demand  for  first-class  offices  is  so  great  that 
a  large  revenue  is  annually  realized  from  the  investment. 

The  City  Hall,  commenced  in  1803  and  completed  in 
1811,  was  for  many  years  the  finest  edifice  in  America.  It  is 
216  feet  long  and  105  wide.  The  front  and  ends  are  of  white 
marble  and  the  rear  of  New  York  free-stone.  The  Mayor, 
clerk  of  the  common  council,  and  many  other  officials  occupy 
its  rooms.  On  the  second  floor  is  the  Governor's  room,  52  by 
20  feet,  used  for  the  reception  of  distinguished  visitors.  It 
contains  General  Washington's  writing-desk,  on  which  he 
penned  his  first  message  to  Congress,  and  is  decorated  with 
many  fine  portraits  of  the  Governors  of  New  York,  and  other 


126 


NEW  YOR-K  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


distinguished  Americans.  The  building  is  surmounted  by  a 
tower  containing  a  bell  weighing  over  9,000  pounds,  and  a 


CITY  HALL. 


cupola  in  which  is  a  four-dial  clock  of  superior  workmanship, 
and  is  otherwise  ornamented  with  a  figure  of  Justice.  The 
building  cost  over  half  a  million,  a  large  sum  for  those  days. 
In  the  rear  of  the  City  Hall,  and  fronting  on  Chambers  street, 
the  authorities  have  been  for  eight  years  engaged  in  the  erec- 
tion of  the  Kew  York  Couet-IIouse.  The  building  is  250 
feet  long,  150  wide,  and  the  crown  of  the  dome  when  com- 
pleted will  be  210  feet  above  the  pavement.  The  walls  are 
of  Massachusetts  white  marble,  the  beams,  staircases,  and  out- 
side doors  are  of  iron,  while  black  walnut  and  the  choicest 
Georgia-pine  are  employed  in  finishing  the  interior.  Some 
of  the  iron  beams  and  girders  weigh  over  twenty-five  tons 
each.  The  halls  are  all  covered  with  marble  tiling.  The 
main  entrance  on  Chambers  street  is  readied  bv  a  flight  of 


THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  MANHATTAN. 


127 


broad  steps  ornamented  with  marble  pillars.  The  architect 
lias  suggested  the  idea  of  making  the  tower  crowning  the 
apex  of  the  dome  a  light-house,  which  from  its  great  height 
could  be  seen  from  vessels  far  out  at  sea.  The  edihce  is  Cor- 
inthian in  style,  much  larger  and  richer  in  finish  than  any 
public  building  hitherto  erected  on  Manhattan,  and  is  costing 
the  public  vast  sums.  Many  private  purses  arc  believed  to 
have  been  unduly  filled  in  connection  with  its  construction. 


OLD  POST-OFFICE. 

(Comer  Xassau  and  Liberty  streets.) 


The  New  York  Post-Office,  now  being  constructed  at 
the  southern  point  of  City  Hall  Park,  nearly  opposite  the  As- 
tor  House,  will  be  somewhat  triangular  in  form,  with  a  front 
of  279  feet  toward  the  Park,  two  equal  lateral  facades  of 
262J  on  Broadway  and  Park  Row,  and  a  front  of  144  feet  at 
the  south-western  extremity.  The  walls  are  to  be  of  Dix  Is- 
land granite,  three  stories  besides  basement  and  attic,  the  main 


128 


NEW  YORK  ANT)  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


cornice  80  feet  above  the  sidewalk,  and  the  crown  of  the 
central  dome  160  feet.  The  windows  are  to  be  semicircular- 
headed  throughout,  the  archivolts  ornamented  with  voussoirs, 
and  carried  on  projecting  pilasters.  The  inside,  which  is  to  be 
devoted  to  the  General  Post-Office  department  and  the  United 
States  Court,  will  have  its  appropriate  appointments  and  cor- 
ridors, while  its  exterior  will  be  adorned  with  a  profusion  of 
classic  pillars,  balconies,  balustrades,  and  other  marks  of 
genius.  It  will  probably  take  several  years  to  complete  it,  and 
cost  as  many  millions.  The  post-office  department  of  New 
York  is  a  colossal  enterprise.  Over  one  hundred  tons  of  mail 
matter  are  handled  every  twenty-four  hours. 

Many  of  the  merchants  of  Manhattan  are  immensely  richer 
than  the  ancient  kings,  owning  stores  the  floors  of  which  cover 
from  five  to  fifteen  acres,  employ  thousands  of  clerks,  porters, 
and  seamstresses,  and  count  their  income  by  the  million. 

Mr.  A.  T.  Stewart's  retail  store,  at  the  corner  of  Tenth 
street  and  Broadway,  has  eight  floors,  which,  if  spread  out 
singly,  would  cover  over  fifteen  acres.  Ilis  sales  in  this  build- 
ing average  §S0,000  per  day,  and  the  daily  visitors  number 
from  15,000  to  50,000,  according  to  the  season.  Mr.  Stew- 
art lias  just  erected  the  most  costly  private  residence  on  the 
continent  for  himself  and  family.  It  stands  at  the  corner  of 
Fifth  avenue  and  Thirty-fourth  street,  is  of  white  marble,  and 
said  to  have  cost  over  two  millions.  Mr.  Stewart  paid  last 
year  a  larger  income-tax  than  either  of  twenty-seven  States 
and  more  than  nine  of  our  territories  combined.  This  gen- 
tleman has  also  an  immense  wholesale  store  near  the  City 
Hall  doing  a  vast  business,  and  is  in  this  line  only  excelled  by 
II.  B.  Claflin  &  Co.,  who  have  not  only  the  largest  wholesale 
store,  bat  are  the  heaviest  dealers  in  dry-goods  in  America. 
Their  store  has  a  frontage  of  eighty  feet,  and  extends  from 
Church  street  to  West  Broadway  along  Worth  street,  a  dis- 
tance of  375  feet.  Beside  many  purchasing  agents  abroad, 
there  are  about  live  hundred  clerks  and  other  employes 
attending  to  the  everyday  affairs  of  this  colossal  business 


United  States  Treasury  Building— Cor.  Wall  and  Nassau  Streets. 


THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  MANHATTAN. 


129 


theater.  The  sales  of  the  house  have  reached  seventy  mil- 
lions in  a  year,  and  one  million  in  a  single  day.  Mr.  Claflin 
worships  at  Plymouth  Church,  Brooklyn. 

Lord  &  Taylor  have  just  added  another  immense  business 
palace  to  the  Metropolis.  It  stands  at  the  corner  of  Twentieth 
street  and  Broadway,  is  of  the  composite  order,  with  a  front  of 
110  feet,  a  depth  of  128,  and  a  height  of  122  feet.  Its  solidity 
may  be  imagined  from  the  fact  that  over  a  thousand  tons  of 
iron  were  employed  in  its  construction.  Though  one  of  the 
most  massive  structures  on  the  island,  its  front  is  so  profusely 
and  tastefully  ornamented  that  one  almost  forgets  that  it  is  a 
place  of  business. 

Tiffany  &  Company  have  also  just  erected  a  fine  building 
on  the  southwest  corner  of  Union  square,  on  the  site  origin- 
ally covered  by  Dr.  Cheever's  church.  They  are  said  to  be 
the  largest  dealers  in  jewelry  in  the  world,  their  sales  amount- 
ing to  several  millions  per  annum,  and  probably  have  the 
largest  and  finest  store  of  its  kind  yet  constructed. 

There  are  now  about  sixty-five  thousand  buildings  on  the 
island,  of  which  about  thirty-four  thousand  are  of  brick, 
twenty  thousand  of  stone,  and  eleven  thousand  of  wood. 
Twenty  thousand  of  these  are  occupied  as  tenant-houses  and 
contain  over  half  the  population.  Many  of  the  churches  are 
large  and  beautiful,  worthy  of  the  times  and  the  people  who 
built  them,  though  it  is  not  complimentary  to  our  Protestant 
evangelical  Christianity,  that  the  three  largest  enterprises  in 
church  architecture  undertaken  on  the  island  during  the  last 
ten  years,  should  result  in  a  Jewish  synagogue,  a  Universa- 
iist  church,  and  a  Roman  Catholic  cathedral. 

Choice  architecture  on  Manhattan  amounts  to  a  practical 
science,  which  is  much  studied,  and  some  intrepid  genius  is 
every  year  seeking  to  eclipse  all  his  predecessors.  At  this 
writing  the  Free  Masons  are  erecting  a  superb  temple  on 
Sixth  avenue  and  Twenty-third  street;  a  fine  building  called 
the  Seamen's  Exchange  is  rising  on  Cherry  street,  at  an  ex- 
pense of  §100,000,  to  contain  a  reading  room,  savings  bank 
9 


130 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


and  other  means  for  improving  the  condition  of  sailors.  The 
Industrial  Exhibition  Company  have  purchased  a  plot  of  twen- 
ty-two acres  between  Third  and  Fourth  avenues,  at  One  Hun- 
dredth street,  and  are  preparing  to  erect  a  vast  crystal  palace, 
the  dimensions  of  which  are  to  be  so  immense,  that  the  crys- 
tal palace  of  nineteen  years  ago  will  be  remembered  as  a 
mere  "  toy-house."  What  the  next  generation  will  undertake 
we  shall  not  attempt  to  divine. 

The  Grand  Central  Depot,  at  42 d  Street  and  4th  Ave- 
nue, built  of  brick  and  iron,  for  the  use  of  the  New  York 
Central  and  Hudson  Eiver,  New  York  and  Harlem,  and 
New  York  and  New  Haven  Kailroad  Companies,  is  an  im- 
posing structure,  692  feet  long  and  240  feet  wide,  and 
admits  of  150  cars,  besides  the  waiting  and  baggage  rooms, 
and  various  offices  connected  with  the  different  roads.  The 
building  covers  66J  city  lots.  The  total  cost  was  nearly 
$2,250,000. 

The  Depot  (car-room)  is  lighted  with  12  large  reflectors 
of  58  burners  each,  suspended  from  the  roof,  and  lighted  by 
electricity.    The  New  York  Tribune  says  : 

"  This  is  by  far  the  largest,  stateliest,  most  costly,  most 
commodious  edifice  devoted  to  like  purposes  on  this  Conti- 
nent, is  an  ornament  to  our  city,  and  a  credit  to  American 
architecture. 

"  If  it  were  only  to  be  seen  for  a  price,  thousands  would 
flock  to  it  daily,  as  the  most  attractive  spectacle  in  our 
city." 


V. 


BUSINESS  IN  NEW  YOKK. 


CAUSES     OF     BUSINESS    FAILURE  BUSINESS     IN     REAL  ESTATE  

CLASSES  OF  RICH  MEN — POLITICIANS — SPECULATORS  AND  STOCK 
GAMBLERS — SUCCESS  OF  GREAT  MEN. 


HILE  it  is  true  that  business  is  essen- 
tially the  same  the  world  over,  it  is 
equally  true  that  in  a  great  city  every- 
is  accelerated.  In  great  commercial 
centers  business  is  reduced  to  a  sort  of  science, 
I  '  and  abundant  scope  is  afforded  for  the  play  of 
the  largest  and  rarest  talents.  Nearly  every  man 
in  cities  has  his  specialty,  which  he  plies,  paying 
little  attention  to  the  rest  of  the  world.  If  one 
thought  predominates  over  all  others  in  the  busy 
m  centers  of  New  York,  it  is  that  of  dispatch.  Ev- 
erything is  on  a  run,  and  everybody  from  butcher  to  banker 
in  a  hurry.  A  clerk  fresh  from  the  country,  toiling  for  his 
board,  can  scarcely  be  tolerated  on  account  of  his  tardiness. 
Steamboats,  horse-cars,  and  stages  are  too  slow  to  satisfy  the 
desires  of  the  rushing  masses.  Every  scheme  for  elevated 
roads,  underground  roads,  river  bridges,  or  tunnels  meets 
with  ten  thousand  advocates,  through  the  ever-present  desire 
to  hasten  travel  and  dispatch  business.  If  you  call  on  a  busi- 
ness stranger,  however  important  your  business,  you  must  be 
able  to  state  it  tersely  and  at  once,  or  you  will  be  summarily 
dismissed  without  a  hearing.  Everything  goes  on  the  old 
maxim,  "  Time  and  tide  wait  for  no  man."  Men  get  rich  in 
a  year,  and  poor  in  a  day  ;  "  up  like  a  rocket,  and  down  like 
a  stick." 

10 


CAUSES  OF  BUSINESS  FAILURES. 


The  number  of  business  failures  in  the  metropolis  is  over- 
whelmingly large,  and  to  a  stranger  almost  incredible.  Many 
people  visit  New  York,  witness  its  extravagance  and  glitter, 
trace  the  records  of  a  few  marvellously  successful  families, 
call  on  the  poor  boy  of  bygone  years,  and  finding  him  a  wealthy 
publisher  or  importer,  dwelling  in  a  palace  of  brown  stone, 
return  home  confident  that  wealth  in  a  great  city  is  almost  a 
necessity,  and  that  the  great  misfortune  of  their  lives  has 
been  in  consenting  to  follow  the  slow  and  modest  occupation 
of  their  fathers.  But  success  is  not  the  rule  in  New  York. 
Indeed,  it  is  the  rare  exception.  Where  one  truly  and  per- 
manently succeeds  it  is  almost  safe  to  say  ninety-nine  fail. 
There  are  few  houses  established  which  do  not  sooner  or  later 
suspend ;  some  have  reorganized  and  failed  a  dozen  times ; 
nine-tenths  of  all  disappear  entirely  after  a  few  years, 
leaving  here  and  there  one  that  has  triumphantly  withstood 
the  shocks  of  thirty  years.  The  observation  of  the  author 
has  led  to  the  conclusion  that  nearly  every  permanent  failure 
may  be  traced  to  one  of  three  causes  :  incompetency,  extrav- 
agance, or  dishonesty. 

Many  who  have  inherited  wealth,  and  a  few  who  have 
acquired  it,  conclude  that  New  York  opens  the  one  grand 
theater  upon  which  they  ought  to  operate.  Hence,  they 
launch  upon  an  untried  business,  in  which  others  have  suc- 
ceeded, but  in  which  they,  for  want  of  tact  and  skill,  soon 
fail,  many  of  them  to  rise  no  more.  The  mania  for  rapid 
fortune-making  in  stocks  and  other  speculations  also  involves 
thousands.  Few  sufficiently  understand  the  chances  in  the 
stock  trade  to  deal  intelligently  and  successfully.  One  or 
two  successful  blunders  give  assurance,  which  ends  a  little 
later  in  disaster  and  financial  ruin,  teaching  the  sad  truth 
when  too  late,  that  all  men  cannot  be  successful  speculators. 

The  temptations  to  extravagance  in  this  age  are  also  so 


CAUSES  OF  BUSINESS  FAILURES. 


133 


numerous  and  potent,  that  while  but  few  wholly  escape  the 
charge,  the  many  are  by  it  plunged  into  financial  and  moral 
ruin.  But  few  are  brave  and  true  enough  to  cling  to  first 
principles  amid  prosperity.  It  is  so  very  easy  to  enlarge  our 
scale  of  living,  and  so  difficult  to  contract  it,  even  when 
necessity  admonishes,  that  multitudes  who  have  industriously 
climbed  the  rugged  heights  of  fortune  become  so  linked  to 
fashion  and  pleasure,  as  to  finally  fail,  and  then  "  begin  with 
shame  to  take  the  lowest  seats."  New  York  is  largely  a 
shoal  of  financial  wrecks.  Every  month  gay  and  attractive 
families  that  have  led  the  fashions,  and  sought  to  be  the 
admired  of  all  admirers,  disappear  from  society,  and  are 
henceforth  to  old  associations  as  one  dead.  Ladies,  whose 
rich  parlors  have  been  theaters  of  music,  splendor,  and  fash- 
ion, retire  to  secluded  neighborhoods  and  ply  the  needle  for 
daily  bread.  Proud  and  petted  daughters  accept  such  hum- 
ble situations  as  they  can  poorly  fill,  too  many  descending  to 
a  life  of  shame.  All  through  senseless  extravagance.  Most 
of  the  leading  salesmen  in  New  York  are  bankrupt-mer- 
chants, many  of  whom  were  once  wealthy  and  lived  in  costly 
splendor.  Some  of  them  built  marble  business  houses  on 
Broadway  which  frugality  would  have  saved,  but  which  now 
stand  as  monuments  to  mock  them  in  their  poverty. 

Dishonesty  is  another  fruitful  source  of  failure.  Perma- 
nent success  is  rarely  or  never  attained  without  integrity. 
The  order  of  the  whole  moral  universe  must  be  reversed  be- 
fore fraud  and  deception  can  hope  for  permanent  security. 
Twenty-five  years  ago  a  young  man  opened  a  store  in  New 
York,  and  for  a  time  rapidly  prospered  and  amassed  fortune. 
He  then  contracted  the  unfortunate  habit  of  systematic 
lying.  His  brightening  prospects  soon  waned,  and  bank- 
ruptcy followed.  His  career  has  since  been  one  of  crushing 
disappointments,  and  after  failing  in  business  four  times  he 
is  now  a  servant.    In  18 —  a  brilliant  young  man  with  small 

capital  opened  a  jewelry  store  in  street.    For  twelve 

years  he  was  regarded  the  model  of  probity,  and  the  star  of 


134 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


his  fortune  rose  and  shone  with  unwonted  brilliancy.  His 
reputation  for  thoroughness  and  integrity  was  so  well  estab- 
lished in  financial  circles,  that  he  could  draw  fifty  thousand 
dollars  from  the  banks  on  his  own  security.  But,  alas !  his 
success  corrupted  him.  He  began  to  invest  in  real  estate,  the 
titles  being  vested  in  his  friends,  and  soon  the  community 
was  shocked  with  the  report  of  his  dishonest  bankruptcy. 
All  his  later  years  which  with  continued  integrity  would 
have  been  the  brightest  and  richest  of  his  earthly  career, 
have  been  darkened  with  litigation,  reproach,  and  self- 
imposed  penury.  The  policy  of  providing  while  in  business  a 
rich  mansion  with  fine  surroundings,  vesting  the  title  in  the 
modest  part  of  the  family,  is  much  resorted  to,  many  ceasing 
to  keep  up  the  semblance  of  solvency  as  soon  as  this  is  accom- 
plished. A  woman  is  as  base  as  a  man  who  will  consent  to 
be  the  accomplice  in  such  shocking  dishonesty. 

We  ought  here  to  add,  perhaps,  that  there  are  also  a  few 
honest  and  unavoidable  failures.  Small  houses  are  pros- 
trated by  the  fall  of  great  ones,  and  general  depressions, 
panics,  and  suspensions  affect  all,  but  the  honest  and  reliable 
usually  soon  start  again  and  retrieve  their  fortunes. 


BUSINESS  IN  REAL  ESTATE. 

From  the  English  conquest  to  this  day  transactions  in  real 
estate  have  been  as  safe  and  profitable  as  almost  any  business 
on  Manhattan.  The  early  settlers  became  wealthy  by  the 
simple  rise  of  land,  and  left  vast  estates  to  their  posterity. 
William  Bayard's  farm,  which  in  1800  was  valued  at  $15,000 
was  sold  in  1833  for  $00,000,  to  gentlemen  who  divided  it 
and  sold  it  for  $260,000,  leaving  still  an  ample  margin  for 
subsequent  transactions.  When  the  Central  Park  was  first 
planned,  lots  could  have  been  bought  on  Fifth  avenue  be- 


Lord  &  Tatlor'8  Store— Broadway  and  20th  Street. 


CLASSES  OF  EICH  MEN". 


135 


tween  Fifty-ninth  and  Seventy-fifth  streets  for  $500  each, 
which  now  bring  from  $18,000  to  $25,000 ;  above  Seventy- 
fifth  street  they  sold  for  $200  each,  now  for  $10,000  or 
$15,000  each.  A  plot  of  fifty-five  lots  on  Eighth  avenue, 
purchased  a  few  years  since  for  $11,500,  is  now  valued  at 
$300,000  by  the  successful  purchaser,  who  still  holds  it. 
Many  of  the  wealthiest  and  sharpest  men  deal  entirely  in  real 
estate.  Panics  affect  prices  in  this  kind  of  property,  crushing 
those  who  deal  only  in  margins,  but  the  solid  capitalist  who 
invests  well  is  sure  to  survive  depressions  and  prosper.  The 
transactions  in  real  estate  in  our  day  are  enormous,  often 
exceeding  a  million  dollars  a  day.  Business  in  real  estate, 
like  all  other  speculations,  opens  a  theater  for  sharpers.  An 
amusing  story  is  told  of  a  Frenchman  who,  many  years 
ago,  when  land  suddenly  rose  to  great  value,  concluded  to  do 
like  his  neighbors — invest  something  in  city  lots.  Without 
examining  it,  he  purchased  something  or  nothing  near  the 
Wallabout  in  Brooklyn.  Some  time  after  he  visited  his  seller 
to  inform  him  that  he  had  visited  the  "  grant  lot  vot  he  had 
sell  him,  and  hefints  no  ground  at  all ;  no  ting  he  finds  but 
vataire."  He  accordingly  asked  for  the  return  of  his  pur- 
chase-money, but  was  coolly  told  that  the  bargain  could  not 
be  reversed,  and  that  he  must  keep  the  lot.  "Den,"  says 
the  excited  Frenchman,  "  I  ask  you  to  be  so  goot  as  to  take 
de  East  Bibber  off  de  top  of  it."  The  man  again  declined, 
whereupon  the  Frenchman  threatened  to  go  and  drown  him- 
self there  in  order  to  enjoy  his  land,  and  was  as  coolly 
told  that  he  might  thus  employ  his  water  privilege.  The 
poor  Frenchman's  land  is  still  submerged. 


CLASSES  OF  RICH  MEN. 


The  harvest  of  this  world  is  gathered  by  a  great  variety  of 
reapers ;  some  are  good,  some  bad.    Kiches  are  not  always 


136 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


given  to  "  men  of  understanding,  nor  favor  to  men  of  skill, 
but  time  and  chance  happen  to  them  all."  New  Tork  has 
many  varieties  of  rich  men.  Some  are  misers  wearing  the 
garb  of  the  pauper ;  some  are  dishonest  bankrupts  clad  in  the 
garments  of  others ;  some  purchase  estates  with  money 
wrung  from  the  filth  and  wreck  of  humanity,  while  others 
are  the  Lord's  noblemen,  gathering  industriously  that  they 
may  disperse  bountifully.  We  can  only  notice  a  few  of  the 
more  prominent  classes  of  rich  men.    We  begin  with  the 

Politicians. — Years  asjo  it  was  difficult  findino;  men  who 
were  willing  to  accept  the  nominations  for  office  in  New 
York,  but  times  have  greatly  changed.  Large  sums  are  now 
exacted  and  given  for  positions.  New  York,  however,  con- 
tains more  vitality  than  its  corrupt  political  record  would 
indicate.  Thousands  of  amiable  men  do  business  here  daily, 
and  form  a  large  part  of  the  strength  of  the  city,  but  as 
they  reside  outside  of  the  county  lines,  are  entirely  counted 
out  on  election  days.  The  press  of  business  keeps  many  vir- 
tuous men  from  the  polls ;  many  true  men  are  discouraged, 
and  think  it  folly  to  contend  with  these  floods  of  corruption ; 
and  others,  deploring  the  expensive  misrule  of  the  times,  quiet 
themselves  with  the  assurance  that  their  own  firm  is  sound, 
and  their  income  satisfactory.  A  company  of  unscrupulous 
politicians,  composed  mostly  of  Democratic  Romanists,  have 
long  ruled  the  elections  and  governed  the  city.  Money  to 
any  amount  needed  to  carry  an  election  is  always  ready,  and 
thousands  of  thieves,  tipplers,  foreigners,  and  loafers  are 
always  in  the  market  to  carry  out,  for  a  morsel  of  bread  or  a 
glass  of  bourbon,  any  behest.  But  politicians  who  give  their 
fortunes  for  their  elections,  sell  their  administration  to  recover 
their  money.  Office  in  New  York  in  these  days  does  not 
signify  eminence,  or  fitness,  or  honor,  but  MONEY.  Money 
in  some  form  brings  men  to  office,  and  office  here  almost 
invariably  brings  men  to  money.  Nearly  all  the  political 
sachems  of  Manhattan  have  amassed  fortunes  from  the  cor- 
poration.   One  of  its  leaders  at  this  writing,  reputed  to  be 


CLASSES  OF  RICH  MEN 


137 


worth  eight  or  ten  millions,  was  a  few  years  since  a  chair- 
maker,  and  abandoned  his  business  with  very  meagre  capital 
for  the  political  arena.  It  is  folly  for  one  to  ask  a  modest 
favor  of  a  New  York  official.  He  is  the  man  to  whom  favors 
belong.  His  ears  are  closed  to  everything  but  golden  peti- 
tions, and  silvery  requests.  A  few  years  of  official  favor 
furnish  a  Fifth  avenue  palace  and  a  splendid  turnout. 


HEW  YORK  STOCK  EXCHANGE. 

(Broad  street.) 


Speculators  and  Stock  Gamblers. — It  is  but  fair  to  state 
that  New  York  society  contains  a  larger  number  of  unscru- 


138 


NEW  YOEK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


pulous  and  daring  speculators  than  any  other  American  city. 
The  variety  and  magnitude  of  its  business,  and  its  connection 
with  all  the  financial  centres  of  the  world,  open  a  wide 
theater  for  every  legitimate  and  illegitimate  undertaking. 
Here  hundreds  and  thousands  of  plotters  and  schemers  con 
gregate,  and  ply  their  arts  with  varying  successes  and  re- 
verses. Men  of  no  principle,  and  with  no  interest  to  serve  save 
their  own  pockets,  by  artful  inventions,  gain  the  control  of 
railroads,  shipping-lines,  stock-boards,  and  other  moneyed 
interests,  absorbing  everything  within  their  grasp,  and  paying 
only  such  bills  as  their  circumstances  compel.  A  striking 
example  of  this  is  seen  in  the  management  of  one  of  the  lead- 
ing railroad  interests  of  the  State,  its  elections  being  manip- 
ulated in  defiance  of  all  law,  under  the  direction  of  officers 
one  of  whom  was  a  few  years  since  an  indigent  surveyor,  and 
another  a  retail  pedler  of  dry  goods.  Many  of  these  support 
magnificent  style,  and  live  in  costly  palaces  on  Fifth  avenue 
during  their  prosperity.  Nothing  reliable  can,  however,  be 
predicted  of  any  of  them ;  they  build  upon  the  sand,  and  if 
rich  to-day  may  be  poor  to-morrow,  and  are  quite  as  likely  to 
be  executed  as  drowned,  or  to  die  in  a  prison  as  in  a  palace. 


SUCCESS  OF  GREAT  MEN. 

Men  are  great  in  what  they  are,  but  this  can  only  be 
known  by  what  they  do.  During  the  last  hundred  years 
an  army  of  men  have  come  to  the  surface  on  Manhattan, 
whose  directness,  probity,  indefatigable  activity,  and  success 
have  demonstrated  their  title  to  real  greatness  in  their  respec- 
tive spheres.  Most  of  them  began  poor,  were  born  in  rural 
retreats,  or  in  foreign  lands,  enjoyed  very  inadequate  facil- 
ities of  culture,  and  were  unsupported  by  friends,  or  great 
names.    More  than  one  of  them  entered  New  York  carry- 


SUCCESS  OF    GEEAT  MEN. 


139 


ing  his  entire  effects  in  a  pocket  handkerchief.  They  are 
eminently  deserving  of  all  the  credit  the  world  is  disposed 
to  accord  them.  To  their  comprehensive  genius  we  are 
indebted  for  the  facilities  of  our  world-wide  commerce,  the 
roar  and  rush  of  our  long-drawn  railroads,  the  speed  and 
magnificence  of  our  river,  lake,  and  ocean  steamers,  the 
number  and  magnitude  of  our  manufactories  and  printing- 
presses,  the  stability  of  our  national  finances,  and  the  found- 
ing of  many  of  our  great  educational,  benevolent,  and 
religious  establishments.  Many  of  them  have  been  at  times 
severely  criticised,  because  of  their  relations  to  commerce, 
banks,  railroad  stocks,  etc. ;  and  without  attempting  an 
apology  for  any  of  them,  we  only  remark,  that  without 
their  genius  and  money,  their  critics  would  have  plodded  the 
moors  on  foot,  and  died  in  profound  ignorance  of  many  of 
the  comforts  of  this  age. 

Some  of  these  men  have  not  been  personally  religious, 
though  most  of  them  have  shown  a  deference  for  sacred 
things.  Starting  with  a  purpose  to  win  by  diligence,  fru- 
gality, and  integrity,  they  have  unflinchingly  held  to  first 
principles,  and  demonstrated  that  honesty  is  beyond  all  ques- 
tion the  best  policy.  One  of  the  first  representatives  of  this 
class  among  New  York  merchants  is  Alexander  T.  Stewart. 
Born  in  a  humble  home  in  Ireland,  he  early  immigrated  to 
New  York,  and  at  length  opened  a  small  store  on  Broadway, 
near  Chambers  street,  doing  all  his  own  work,  and  toiling  six- 
teen hours  per  day.  His  wife  lived  in  a  single  room  over  the 
store,  doing  all  her  own  work.  Forced  to  raise  money  to 
meet  his  engagements  or  speedily  become  a  bankrupt,  to 
which  he  would  not  consent,  he  filled  the  neighborhood  with 
handbills  offering  his  goods  at  cost.  His  stock  was  soon  sold, 
and  as  its  quality  was  unsurpassed,  his  reputation  was  estab- 
lished. His  noble  resolve  to  sacrifice  his  goods  and  pay  his 
debts  was  the  key  to  his  later  success  and  world-wide  fame. 
At  the  age  of  eighty  years,  and  among  the  largest  and  richest 
merchants  of  the  world,  he  attends  to  the  minutest  matters 


140  NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 

of  his  business,  never  leaving  the  store  at  night  until  the  last 
stroke  of  the  pen  is  made,  and  everything  adjusted. 

Among  the  steamboat  and  railroad  men  of  Manhattan,  we 
could  scarcely  select  a  fitter  representative  than  Cornelius 
Vanderbilt.  A  penniless  youth,  he  began  his  marvelous 
career  by  paddling  his  own  canoe  between  Staten  Island  and 
New  York,  from  which  he  soon  rose  to  the  captaincy  of  a 
North-river  steamboat.  Some  years  later  he  commenced 
running  opposition  with  half  the  old  lines  of  travel  leading 
to  New  York,  at  first  with  chartered,  but  finally  with  pur- 
chased and  well-constructed  boats.  From  steamboat  lines  he 
advanced  to  the  control  of  railroads,  and  is  likely  to  die 
the  acknowledged  railroad  kins:  of  the  western  continent. 
Whatever  may  be  said  of  his  bargains,  his  business  has 
throughout  been  conducted  on  the  cash  system,  paying  every 
man  the  precise  sum  promised  without  any  delay.  He  is 
now  over  eighty  years  of  age,  and  lives  in  a  plain  brick 
dwelling  with  his  second  wife,  to  whom  he  was  recently 
married. 

Another  class  of  successful  New  Yorkers  began  life  reli- 
giously, or  became  so  quite  early  in  their  business  career. 
While  these  have  been  quite  as  active  and  powerful  in 
extending  commerce,  building  railroads,  and  developing  the 
city,  as  those  above  mentioned,  they  have  also  formed  the 
pillars  in  the  churches,  and  have  sent  out  their  money  in 
waves  of  blessedness  to  gladden  the  desolate  plains  of  the 
whole  world. 

John  Jacob  Astor  was  an  elder  in  the  Lutheran  church, 
and  gave  freely  to  many  charitable  enterprises.  He  was  the 
wealthiest  man  in  America  at  his  death.  His  son,  William 
B.  Astor,  is  not  only  one  of  the  richest,  but  one  of  the  safest 
business  men  in  New  York,  investing  his  enormous  income 
almost  wholly  in  real  estate.  With  twice  the  wealth  of  his 
father,  he  has  less  than  half  his  liberality.  lie  is,  however, 
an  honest  man,  and  an  honorable  landlord.  His  income-tax 
during  1870  exceeded  that  paid  by  the  whole  State  of  Yer- 


SUCCESS  OF  GEEAT  MEN". 


141 


mont.  Among  the  wealthy  iron  merchants  of  New  York,  no 
man  has  run  a  more  useful  and  brilliant  career  than  William 
W.  Cornell.  BeginniDg  life  in  the  city  a  penniless  boy  at 
the  anvil,  he  not  only  consecrated  to  God  his  heart,  but 
his  money,  giving  half  of  the  first  hundred  dollars  he  was 
allowed  to  call  his  own  to  the  missionary  cause.  Possess- 
ing a  vigorous  and  well-balanced  mind,  he  early  rose 
from  obscurity,  making  his  business  a  power  which  brought 
him  in  contact  with  the  leading  men  of  the  metropolis. 
While  pressing  with  marvellous  capacity  an  immense  busi- 
ness, he  found  time  for  wide  religious  labors,  identifying  his 
name  and  money  with  every  struggling  enterprise  of  his 
denomination,  and  fell  in  middle  life,  ripe  in  every  good 
work,  and  universally  lamented  by  all  who  knew  him.  Of 
Daniel  Drew,  William  E.  Dodge,  James  Lennox,  Andrew  Y. 
Stout,  Robert  L.  Stewart,  H.  J.  Baker,  William  A.  Booth,  A. 
R.  Wetmore,  and  many  others,  we  cannot  particularly  speak. 
They  not  only  rank  among  the  most  successful  men  in  busi- 
ness, but  are  among  the  most  honored  and  generous  in 
their  respective  denominations.  May  they  long  live  and 
prosper,  reaping  many  a  golden  harvest  for  Christ  and 
humanity,  demonstrating  that  integrity,  benevolence,  and 
genuine  piety  may  have  their  finest  development  in  the 
rush  and  whirl  of  the  metropolis.  We  conclude  this  chapter 
by  adding  that  while  it  is  true  that  the  chances  of  failure 
are  more  numerous,  and  the  trials  of  principle  more  severe 
than  in  a  smaller  town,  the  metropolis  still  affords  to  true, 
energetic,  and  well-balanced  men  the  richest  field  for  the 
development  of  all  their  noblest  faculties,  and  for  the  accu- 
mulation of  great  wealth.  But  any  young  man  hoping  for 
great  success  in  New  York  must  expect  to  toil  harder,  live 
closer,  and  die  earlier,  after  bearing  through  life  an  im- 
mensely greater  strain,  both  of  head  and  heart,  than  in  any 
other  portion  of  the  American  continent. 


VI. 


THE  CHURCHES  OF  NEW  YORK. 

REFORMED  DUTCH  PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL  LUTHERAN  PRESBYTE- 
RIAN— BAPTIST  METHODIST  JEWS  ROMAN       CATHOLIC  OTHER 

DENOMINATIONS  AND  MISSIONARY  SOCIETIES. 

HE  early  religious  history  of  Manhattan 
presents  many  interesting  reminiscences, 
which  for  want  of  space  we  cannot  minutely 
present.  Intolerance  and  persecution  we 
are,  however,  sorry  to  say,  existed,  in  those 
good  old  days  of  "  simplicity  and  sunshine." 
The  troublesome  doctrine  of  uniformity  long  retarded  the 
genuine  religious  development  of  the  people.  The  first 
Quaker  preacher  landed  in  1656,  but  finding  it  unsafe  for 
one  of  his  faith  and  habits,  departed  unceremoniously.  In 
1707  a  Presbyterian  clergyman  was  arrested  and  compelled 
to  pay  the  cost  of  an  expensive  suit,  for  preaching  in  a  pri- 
vate house,  and  baptizing  a  child.  In  1709,  a  Baptist  minis- 
ter was  imprisoned  three  months  for  presuming  to  preach  in 
the  city  without  permission  from  the  authorities.  The  Jews 
were  long  denied  the  privilege  of  worship,  and  a  law  was 
passed,  though  never  enforced,  for  hanging  every  Catholic 
priest  who  should  voluntarily  enter  the  city.  These  preju- 
dices, however,  early  passed  away. 


REFORMED  DUTCH. 

The  island  being  at  first  settled  by  the  Hollanders,  it  was 
but  natural  that  the  Dutch  church  should  long  have  the  pre- 


REFORMED  DUTCH 


143 


cedency.  A  church  organization  was  effected  in  1626,  and 
there  are  regular  records  since  1639.    In  1612,  a  stone  church 


THE  OLD  DUTCH  CHURCH,  FULTON  STREET,  CORNER  WILLIAM. 
{In  ichich  originated  and  are  now  held  the  Fulton-street  noon  prayer-meetings.) 

edifice  was  erected  in  the  southeast  corner  of  the  fort  at 
Bowling  Green.  The  building  was  70  by  52  feet,  16  feet 
high,  and  cost  2,500  guilders.  It  stood  99  years,  and  was 
then  destroyed  by  fire.    In  1693.,  the  Garden  street  Butch 


144 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


church  was  erected,  and  in  1729  the  Middle  Dutch  church, 
used  since  1844  as  the  New  York  Post  Office.  It  was  in  this 
church  that  the  zealous  Dutch  submitted  after  much  excite- 
ment and  discussion  to  the  introduction  of  preaching  in  the 
English  language,  to  save  their  young  people,  who  were  flock- 
ing to  the  English  churches.  The  first  sermon  in  English  was 
preached  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Laidlie,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  last 
Sabbath  in  March,  1764,  the  innovation  being  such  a  novelty 
that  the  building  and  its  windows  were  packed  beyond  all 
description.  This  occurred  just  one  hundred  years  after  the 
introduction  of  the  English  government  and  language.  The 
North  Dutch  church  was  the  next  erected,  on  the  corner  of 
what  is  now  William  and  Fnlton  streets.  The  land  now 
valued  at  $300,000  was  donated  by  John  Harpending ;  the 
corner-stone  was  laid  July  2d,  1767,  and  the  house  dedicated 
May  25th,  1769.  The  structure  is  of  stone,  100  feet  long  by  70 
wide,  with  a  lofty  steeple,  and  cost  nearly  twelve  thousand 
pounds.  It  was  in  this  venerable  edifice  that  the  far-famed 
Fulton-street  daily  prayer-meeting,  characterized  by  unusual 
catholicity,  fervent  spontaneity,  and  the  devout  and  pente- 
costal  mingling  of  strangers,  originated  in  September,  1857. 
Here  it  still  continues.  The  Reformed  Dutch  have  now  25 
churches  and  chapels  on  the  island,  many  of  which  are  large 
and  well  attended,  but  their  paucity  indicates  that  this  excel- 
lent denomination,  first  on  the  soil,  has  not  been  very  aggres- 
sive. 


PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL. 

On  the  surrender  of  Manhattan  to  the  English  in  1664,  the 
haughty  conquerors  not  only  took  possession  of  the  fort,  but 
of  the  church  also,  and  forthwith  introduced  the  Episcopal 
6ervice,  changing  the  name  of  the  building  to  King's  Chapel. 


PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL. 


145 


'The  service  of  the  church  of  England  was  conducted  here 
until  the  dedication  of  the  first  Trinity  in  February,  1697. 
This  building,  which  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  Trinity, 
was  a  small,  square  edifice,  and  after  being  twice  enlarged, 
was  destroyed  by  the  great  conflagration  of  1776.  It  was  re- 
built in  1788,  pulled  down  in  1840,  and  the  present  magnifi- 
cent structure  completed  and  opened  for  worship,  May  21st, 
1846.  It  is  solid  New  Jersey  brown-stone  from  foundation 
to  spire,  except  the  roof,  which  is  wood.  The  edifice,  which 
is  in  the  Gothic  order,  is  192  feet  long  and  80  feet  wide,  the 
side  walls  rising  fifty  feet.  The  spire  stretches  upward  to 
the  lofty  altitude  of  284  feet,  up  the  winding  stairs  of  which 
hundreds  ascend  daily  308  steps  (250  feet)  to  the  tower, 
where  they  obtain  a  magnificent  view  of  the  city,  and  its  im- 
mediate surroundings.  The  chimes  of  Trinity  are  surpassed 
by  few  bells  in  the  world.  Trinity  was  endowed  by  Queen 
Anne,  and  came  into  possession  of  a  large  farm  owned  by  a 
Dutch  woman  named  Anneke  Jans,  which  now  covers  a  large 
portion  of  the  city.  Trinity  is  the  mother  of  Episcopal 
churches  in  America.  It  is  the  richest  religious  corporation 
on  the  continent,  its  property,  mostly  in  city  real  estate,  being 
valued  at  forty  or  fifty  millions.  Many  of  the  streets  of  New 
York  bear  the  names  of  her  rectors  and  vestrymen. 

The  plan  of  a  collegiate  charge  was  early  adopted  by  the 
Dutch  and  Episcopal  churches  of  New  York,  and  still  con- 
tinues to  a  limited  extent.  St.  Paul's,  situated  on  Broadway, 
between  Fulton  and  Yesey  streets,  a  fine  structure  of  reddish 
gray-stone,  was  opened  for  dedication  October  30th,  1766. 
St.  Johns,  on  Yarick  street,  was  erected  in  1807,  at  a  cost  of 
over  two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  St.  George's  was 
dedicated  July  1st,  1752.  All  these  were  under  the  Trinity 
parish,  though  the  last-named  has  since  become  a  separate 
corporation. 

The  Episcopalians  of  New  York  are  a  vigorous  and  benev- 
olent body,  forming  really  the  strength  of  the  denomination 
in  the  country,  supporting  numerous  benevolent  institutions, 


146 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


and  paying  annually  large  sums  to  maintain  feeble  parishes, 
scattered  over  the  interior  of  the  State.  Their  churches  and 
chapels  (94  in  all)  outnumber  those  of  any  other  denomina- 
tion on  the  island.  They  have  been  exceedingly  happy  in 
selecting  names  for  their  churches ;  besides  the  churches  of 
the  Holy  Apostles,  Holy  Innocents,  Holy  Communion,  Holy 
Martyrs,  and  Holy  Trinity,  we  read  of  the  church  of  St.  Al- 
ban's,  St.  Ambrose,  St.  Andrew's,  St.  Ann's,  St.  Clement,  St. 
John's,  St.  Luke's,  St.  Mark's,  St.  Paul's,  St.  Peters,  St. 
Philip's,  St.  Stephen's,  St.  Mary's,  etc.,  etc.,  until  one  feels 
that  New  York  is  a  sainted  community,  notwithstanding  the 
number  of  sinners  reported  to  still  lurk  around  its  corners. 


LUTHERAN. 

The  Lutherans,  akin  to  the  Keformed  Dutch,  were  the 
third  to  establish  a  separate  service.  Indeed  it  appears  to 
have  been  established  before  the  English  conquest,  though  no 
church  edifice  was  erected  until  1702,  when  a  small  stone 
building  was  reared  on  the  corner  of  Hector  street  and  Broad- 
way, which  was  also  destroyed  by  the  fire  of  September,  1776. 

In  1767,  they  erected  a  substantial  stone  edifice  on  the 
corner  of  Frankfort  and  William  streets,  known  as  the 
"  Swamp  church,"  and  others  in  different  parts  of  the  city, 
have  been  since  added  as  the  wants  of  the  denomination  have 
required.  There  are  now  about  fifteen  Lutheran  churches 
on  the  island,  several  of  which  have  large  and  wealthy  con- 
gregations. 


Madison  Avenue  Reformed  Church— Corner  5r<T  Street. 
Rev.  H.  D.  Ganse,  Pastor. 

Erected  1870.   Cost  $150,000.    Lots,  $90,000.    Splr.  '88  feet. 


PRESBYTERIAN. 


147 


PRESBYTERIAN. 

The  Presbyterians,  whose  activity  and  strength  are  at  this 
time  second  to  no  Protestant  body  in  New  York,  were  long 
and  bitterly  opposed  in  establishing  their  system  of  worship. 
They  met  in  private  houses  for  a  considerable  period,  and  in 
1716  organized  their  first  society,  connecting  it  with  the 
Presbytery  of  Philadelphia.  Having  gained  recognition 
from  the  authorities,  they  were  allowed  to  worship  in  the  City 
Hall  until  1719,  when  they  opened  their  first  edifice  in  "Wall 
street  near  Broadway.  This  first  building  was  enlarged  in 
1718,  rebuilt  on  an  enlarged  scale  in  1810,  destroyed  by  fire 
in  1834,  and  again  rebuilt  and  occupied  until  1844,  when  it 
was  sold  and  taken  down  ;  the  congregation  erecting  what 
has  since  been  known  as  the  First  Presbyterian  church, 
corner  of  Broadway  and  Eleventh  street.  Their  second  edi- 
fice, the  "  Brick  church,"  on  the  corner  of  Beekman  and 
Nassau  streets,  was  dedicated  January  1,  1768,  and  stood  at 
that  time  in  the  open  field.  The  next  was  the  Rutgers-street 
church,  opened  for  worship  May  13,  1798,  which  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  Duane,  established  in  1808,  and  the  church 
of  University  place  in  1845.  Many  of  their  churches  are 
now  located  in  the  richest  parts  of  the  city,  with  large  Sun- 
day schools  and  intelligent  congregations.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  two  more  wealthy  or  liberal  congregations  can  be 
found  on  this  continent  than  that  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
church,  Dr.  Paxton,  pastor,  which  last  year  contributed  to 
benevolent  enterprises  over  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand 
dollars,  and  the  Fifth  avenue  Presbyterian  church,  Dr.  John 
Hall,  pastor,  which  contributed  over  one  hundred  and  eigh- 
teen thousand  dollars.  Of  these  sums  nearly  a  quarter  of  a 
million  went  to  outside  charities.  A  collection  of  $20,000 
is  no  unusual  thing  for  a  Sabbath  morning.  Many  of  these 
churches  establish  and  support  missions  in  less  favored  local- 
ities.   The  churches  and  mission  chapels  of  the  Presbyterians 


148 


NEW  YOEK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


proper  number  seventy,  those  of  the  United  Presbyterians 
eight,  of  the  .Reformed  Presbyterians  seven,  and  of  the  Con- 
gregationalists  nine.  Several  magnificent  institutions,  which 
are  elsewhere  described  in  this  work,  have  recently  been 
projected  by  this  denomination. 


BAPTIST. 

The  first  Baptists  on  Manhattan  were  of  the  Arminian  faith. 
They  began  their  toil  amid  violent  persecution,  and  immersed 
some  of  their  converts  at  midnight,  to  avoid  difficulty.  Their 
first  house  of  worship,  the  Arminian  Baptist  church,  stood  on 
Golden  Hill,  afterwards  Gold  street,  and  was  erected  about 
1725.  The  history  of  the  Baptist  church  in  New  York  pre- 
sents some  remarkable  congregational  feuds,  and  whether 
these  have  retarded  or  developed  the  growth  of  the  denomina- 
tion we  shall  not  attempt  to  decide.  As  neither  faction  have 
understood  the  principle  of  surrender,  nearly  every  serious 
dissension  has  either  resulted  in  the  extinction  of  a  church,  or 
in  the  founding  of  one  or  two  new  ones.  In  1770  a  diffi- 
culty arose  in  the  First  church,  during  the  pastorate  of  Rev. 
John  Gano,  respecting  psalmody.  Most  of  the  congregation 
preferred  to  abolish  the  old  custom  of  parcelling  out  the  lines 
in  singing,  whereupon  a  number  of  members  withdrew  and 
established  the  Second  Baptist  church.  The  Second  church 
gained  accessions  after  the  Revolution,  when  another  strife 
arose,  about  equally  dividing  the  membership,  each  party 
claiming  to  be  the  Second  Baptist  church,  and  virtually  ex- 
communicating each  other.  Through  the  mediation  of  friends 
in  1791,  the  disputed  title  was  dropped ;  one  section  became 
known  as  the  Bethel  church,  and  the  other  the  Baptist  church 
in  Fayette  street.  Thus  one  church  literally,  though  un- 
happily, developed  into  three  in  twenty-one  years.    In  1802 


St.  Paul's  Methodist  Church— Corner  4th  Avenue  and  22d  Street. 


METHODIST. 


149 


John  Inglesby,  a  member  of  the  Fayette  street  church,  was 
licensed  to  preach,  and  the  next  year  began  to  hold  regular 
services  in  a  hall  in  Greenwich  street,  which  resulted  at  length 
in  the  First  Ebenezer  Baptist  church.  Inglesby's  course  was 
not  approved  by  the  Fayette-street  society.  His  preaching 
savored  of  Antinomianism,  and  his  society  was  refused  ad- 
mission into  the  Association.  The  Ebenezer  church  of  our 
day  was  organized  in  1825,  and  after  several  removals  is  now 
located  in  West  Thirty-sixth  street.  The  Welsh  Baptist 
church  was  founded  in  1807,  the  Mulberry  street,  the  Abyssi- 
nian, and  the  North  Beriah  in  1809,  the  Zoar  church  in  1811, 
the  South  Baptist  in  1822,  the  Cannon  street  in  1827,  the 
North  Baptist  in  1828,  the  Salem  in  1834,  the  West  church  in 
1835,  the  Berean  in  1838,  the  Sixth  street  in  1840,  and  the 
Bloomingdale  in  1843.  The  Old  and  the  New  school,  the 
Colored,  the  German,  the  Welsh,  and  the  Free-will  Baptists, 
united,  have  about  fifty  places  of  worship  in  New  York  at 
this  time,  and  rank  among  the  most  zealous  and  useful  of  our 
city  churches. 


METHODIST. 

Methodism  having  become  a  power  in  Great  Britain,  drifted 
across  the  ocean,  and,  in  1766,  sprang  up  in  the  New  World. 
The  first  Methodist  service  was  conducted  by  Philip  Embury, 
an  Irish  Wesleyan  local  preacher,  in  his  own  house  in  Barrack 
street,  now  Park  Place,  to  a  congregation  of  six  persons.  A 
class  was  soon  formed,  and  the  place  becoming  too  small  for 
the  congregation,  a  more  eligible  room  was  secured  in  the 
neighborhood;  where  the  little  society  unexpectedly  sprang 
into  public  notice  by  the  advent  of  Captain  Thomas  Webb  of 
the  English  army,  then  stationed  at  Albany.  Webb  had 
served  with  distinction  under  Braddock  and  Wolfe,  was  a 
spiritual  son  of  John  Wesley,  a  man  of  sense  and  fervid  elo- 


150 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


quence,  and  as  he  preached  in  full  uniform,  laying  his  sword 
on  the  desk,  he  attracted  great  attention.  The  Rigging  Loft 
on  Horse  and  Cart  street,  now  William,  between  Fulton  and 
John  streets,  until  the  opening  of  the  first  John-street  church, 
October  30,  1768,  was  their  temporary  chapel,  where  many 
conversions  occurred.  The  John-street  church  was  rebuilt  on 
the  original  site  in  1817,  and  again  in  1840,  and  is  likely  to 
long  remain  the  monumental  cradle  of  American  Methodism. 

The  Forsyth  street  church  was  founded  in  1790,  the  Duane 
in  1797,  the  Allen  street  and  the  Bedford  in  1810,  the  Willet 
street  in  1817,  the  Eighteenth  street  in  1829,  the  Green  street 
in  1831,  and  the  Mulberry  (now  the  St.  Paul's)  in  1834.  The 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  now  sixty  churches  and  cha- 
pels on  the  island,  valued  at  over  two  million  dollars,  many  of 
which  are  large  and  beautiful  structures.  St.  Paul's,  at  the  cor- 
ner of  Fourth  avenue  and  Twenty-second  street,  is  perhaps  the 
finest  edifice  yet  reared  by  the  denomination  on  Manhattan. 
The  building  is  of  white  marble  in  the  Romanesque  order,  its 
length  being  (including  chapel)  146  feet,  and  the  width  75 
feet.  The  height  of  the  nave  is  45  feet,  and  the  top  of  the 
spire  210  feet.  The  audience  room  contains  comfortable  seat- 
ing for  over  thirteen  hundred  persons.  The  members  of  the 
Methodist  church  in  New  York,  who  number  about  thirteen 
thousand,  retain  much  of  the  fervor  and  simplicity  of  the  by- 
gone period,  while  in  liberality  they  probably  far  excel  their 
forefathers.  Besides  the  churches  mentioned  above  there  are 
about  a  dozen  others,  scattered  over  the  island  under  various 
Methodist  titles,  and  offshoots  from  the  parent  body. 


JEWS. 

Some  families  of  Jews  are  said  to  have  been  among  the 
early  settlers  of  Manhattan,  but  at  what  time  they  first  estab- 
lished their  worship  is  not  certainly  known.    It  is  probable 


JEWS. 


151 


that  about  1706  they  erected  their  first  synagogue  on  Mill 
street,  which  was  twice  rebuilt  and  constituted  their  only  place 


JEWISH  TEMPLE. 

{Fifth  avenue,  corner  Forty-third  street.) 


of  worship  for  over  one  hundred  years.  During  the  last  forty 
years  their  numbers  have  greatly  increased,  and  the  twenty- 
seven  well-ordered  synagogues  of  our  day  attest  their  steady 
adherence  to  the  faith  of  their  fathers.  Many  of  their  syna- 
gogues are  situated  in  rich  and  eligible  localities,  and  the 
one  recently  erected  on  the  corner  of  Forty-third  street  and 
Fifth  avenue  is  one  of  the  largest  and  richest  structures  on 
the  island. 


152 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


HOMAN  CATHOLIU. 

The  first  Eoman  Catholic  families  entered  New  York  dur- 
ing the  administration  of  Governor  Thomas  Dongan,  but 


CATHOLIC  CATHEDRAL. 

{Fifth  avenue,  between  Fifty-first  and  Fifty-second  streets.) 


they  were  not  allowed  to  establish  their  system  of  worship  un- 
til after  the  Revolution.    They  first  worshipped  in  a  public 


ROMAN  CATHOLIC. 


153 


building  in  Yauxhall  garden,  situated  on  the  Hudson  river 
between  Warren  and  Chambers  streets.  Their  first  church 
edifice  was  on  the  site  of  the  present  St.  Peters  church  in  Bar- 
clay street,  mass  being  first  performed  within  its  walls  Novem- 
ber 4,  1786.  No  other  Catholic  church  was  erected  for  more 
than  thirty  years.  St.  Peter's  was  rebuilt  of  granite  on  a  greatly 
enlarged  scale  in  1836,  and  still  remains  a  substantial  monu- 
ment of  the  denomination.  Its  front  is  ornamented  with  six 
massive  Ionic  columns,  and  a  monument  of  St.  Peter  with  the 
keys.  In  1815  they  erected  "  St.  Patrick's  cathedral,"  on  the 
corner  of  Mott  and  Prince  streets,  and  in  1826  they  purchased 
of  the  Presbyterians  a  small  edifice  on  Sheriff  street,  between 
Broome  and  Delancey.  About  the  same  time  they  purchased 
a  church  edifice  from  the  Episcopalians  in  Ann  street  near 
Nassau,  which  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1834,  when  the  society 
divided,  one  section  building  the  "St.  James'  church  "on  James 
street,  the  other  purchasing  a  building  of  the  Presbyterians 
on  Chambers  street,  which  they  named  the  "  Church  of  the 
Transfiguration."  In  1833  they  erected  "  St.  Joseph's  church  " 
in  Barrow  street;  in  1S40  they  purchased  the  Universalist 
church  in  Duane  street,  and  in  1841  they  purchased  the  ''Se- 
cond avenue  Presbyterian  church."  The  Catholics  have  pur- 
chased nearly  every  church  offered  for  sale  in  the  city  for 
many  years  past,  their  communicants  being  composed  largely 
of  the  laboring  classes,  and  occupying  sections  where  Protes- 
tant churches  have  found  it  difficult  to  sustain  themselves. 
This  sect  has  wonderfully  increased  on  Manhattan  during  the 
last  fifty  years,  not  to  any  considerable  extent  from  the  con- 
version of  Americans,  but  from  the  very  extensive  immigra- 
tion of  foreigners  to  this  country,  many  of  whom  linger  in 
the  cities.  They  have  now  forty  churches  on  the  island,  most 
of  which  are  large,  and  their  services  are  usually  crowded 
without  any  regard  to  time,  season,  or  weather. 

The  late  Archbishop  Hughes  projected  the  largest  and 
richest  enterprise  in  church  architecture  ever  undertaken  in 
New  York.    He  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  immense  "  St. 


154: 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


Patrick's  Cathedral,"  on  Fifth  avenue,  between  Fifty-first  and 
Fifty-second  streets  in  1858,  since  which  the  work  of  construe- 
tion  has  slowly  progressed.  The  extreme  length  of  the  structure 
is  332  feet  with  a  general  breadth  of  132,  and  at  the  transept 
of  174  feet.  The  foundation  is  of  Maine  granite  and  the  side 
walls  of  Westchester  marble.  The  style  of  the  building  is 
decorated  Gothic,  with  two  lofty  spires,  and  when  completed 
is  expected  to  be  the  finest  architectural  monument  of  its  kind 
on  the  continent. 

The  labors  and  sacrifices  of  the  Catholics  for  the  advance- 
ment of  their  church  interests  are  proverbial.  Their  exces- 
sive liberality  amounts  to  almost  a  crime  (1  Tim.  v.  8),  giv- 
ing so  extensively  that  when  overtaken  by  sickness  or  misfor- 
tune vast  numbers  of  them  fall  at  once  a  burden  upon  the 
city  charities.  Being  also  a  unit  in  politics  they  have  found 
ways  and  means  unknown  to  the  Protestant  denominations. 


OTHER  DENOMINATIONS  AND  MISSIONARY  SOCIETIES. 

The  "  Church  of  the  Strangers  "  originated  with  the  present 
pastor,  Rev.  Chas.  F.  Deems,  D.D.,  formerly  of  North  Caro- 
lina, who  preached  the  first  sermon  in  the  small  chapel  of  the 
University,  on  the  twenty-second  day  of  July,  1866,  to  fifteen 
persons.  Service  was  held  weekly  until  the  chapel  was  filled, 
and  in  May,  1867,  the  congregation  removed  to  the  large 
chapel  of  the  University  and  organized  a  Sabbath-school. 
Temporary  organizations  to  conduct  the  business  were 
formed,  and  on  Jan.  5,  1868,  a  church  organization  was 
effected  and  twenty-two  communicants  enrolled.  The  mem- 
bership now  numbers  two  hundred.  Members  are  required 
to  subscribe  to  the  Apostles'  Creed  and  profess  an  earnest 
"  effort  to  be  saved  from  their  sins  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."    In  October,  1870,  the  congregation  removed  to 


OTHER  DENOMINATIONS  AND  MISSIONARY  SOCIETIES.  155 

the  old  Mercer-street  Presbyterian  church,  which  had  been 
purchased  and  generously  presented  to  the  society  by  Corne- 


THE  CHURCH  OF  THE  STRANGERS. 


lius  Yanderbilt,  Esq.  The  temporal  affairs  are  conducted  by 
the  Monthly  Meeting,  composed  of  all  communicants  and 
subscribers.  The  seats  are  free,  and  all  members  aud  resi- 
dent attendants  are  expected  to  subscribe  a  weekly  amount. 
Annual  expense  of  church,  §10,000 

The  Moravians  were  first  organized  in  New  York  in  1748, 


156 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


and  have  at  this  time  two  churches.  The  Universalists  be- 
gan in  1796,  and  have  at  present  three  churches  and  four 
missions.  The  Unitarians  organized  in  1819,  their  first  ser- 
mon being  preached  by  Dr.  Channing,  of  Boston ;  they  have 
at  this  writing  five  congregations.  The  Friends  opened  their 
first  Meeting  House  in  1703,  and  have  now  five  congrega- 
tions on  Manhattan.  The  members  of  the  Greek  church  have 
just  opened  a  temporary  chapel,  and  are  soon  to  erect  a  church 
on  Lexington  avenue.  The  churches  and  chapels  of  the  Pro- 
testant denominations  now  number  four  hundred  and  thirty, 
with  seating  for  nearly  400,000  persons.  The  church  pro- 
perty exclusive  of  endowments  amounts  to  at  least  $30,000,000. 
About  one  and  a  half  million  dollars  are  annually  required 
to  support  the  Protestant  churches,  and  these  contribute,  be- 
side their  current  expenses,  five  millions  to  other  charities. 

The  New  York  City  Mission  and  Tract  Society  was  organ- 
ized nearly  fifty  years  ago.  In  1835  it  employed  twelve  gen- 
eral missionary  laborers  and  the  number  has  been  steadily  in- 
creased until  it  now  exceeds  forty.  The  missionaries  have 
not,  until  recently,  attempted  to  form  societies.  There  are 
three  missionary  societies  operating  in  the  City,  under  the  di- 
rection of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  and  one  con- 
nected with  the  Reformed  Dutch  church.  There  has  been 
also  for  many  years  a  city  missionary  society  connected  with 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  which  was  reorganized  and  in- 
corporated in  April,  1866.  Under  the  presidency  of  the  late 
"W".  W.  Cornell,  Esq.,  whose  munificence  and  unaffected  piety 
have  rarely  if  ever  been  excelled,  this  organization  became 
the  most  vigorous  for  city  evangelization  of  any  in  the  me- 
tropolis. During  the  last  few  years  three  of  its  missions  have 
developed  into  self-supporting  churches,  with  good  houses  of 
worship ;  a  number  of  fine  chapels  have  been  erected,  and 
nearly  twenty  new  societies  organized.  There  are  over  260 
city  missionaries  at  work  in  New  York  under  the  direction  of 
the  Protestant  churches,  beside  scores  of  agents  and  visitors  of 
the  numerous  benevolent  societies.    These  missionaries  make 


OTHEE  DENOMINATIONS  AND  MISSIONARY  SOCEETTES.  157 

about  800,000  visits  per  annum ;  they  carry  gladness  and  sun- 
shine into  many  caverns  of  darkness  and  poverty,  dissemin- 
ate religious  knowledge,  relieve  the  suffering,  and  gather  the 
wayward  into  the  sanctuaries.  Though  much  is  said  and 
written  about  the  neglect  of  the  masses  in  large  cities,  it  is 
nevertheless  certain  to  those  who  are  in  circumstances  to 
know,  that  few  sections  of  Christendom  are  more  thoroughly 
canvassed  by  the  pious  than  the  lanes  and  streets  of  Manhat- 
tan. 


12 


VII. 


PARKS  AND  SQUARES. 


SQUATTER  SETTLEMENT,  1855.—  NOW  CENTRAL  PARK. 


There  are  eighteen  public  and  several  private  parks  and 
squares  on  Manhattan,  covering  in  all  over  a  thousand  acres 
or  one-fourteenth  of  the  entire  island.  Many  of  the  early- 
parks  have  either  disappeared  or  been  greatly  changed  during 
the  last  few  years.  The  Battery,  which  now  contains  twelve 
acres,  was  originally  somewhat  smaller,  and  was  early  pro- 
fusely set  with  Lombardy  poplar  trees,  all  of  which  have  now 
disappeared.  This  park,  affording  a  fine  view  of  the  bay, 
and  fanned  with  the  cool  breezes  from  the  ocean,  was  for 
many  years  the  most  popular  resort  of  the  city  for  all  classes. 

It  is  being  again  improved  with  walks  and  trees,  after  be- 
ing long  neglected.    Bowling  Green,  so  named  because  the 


PAKKS  AND  SQUARES. 


159 


favorite  bowling  place  of  the  military  officers  of  King  George, 
is  a  small  oval  enclosure  at  lower  Broadway.  It  was  fenced 
with  iron  before  the  Revolution,  and  the  heads  of  the  posts 
were  broken  off  and  used  as  cannon  balls  during  the  war. 
The  City  Hall  Park  contains  ten  acres.  Many  great  and 
beautiful  trees  in  this  were  cut  down  after  the  erection  of  the 
Marble  Hall,  to  enable  the  populace  from  all  quarters  to  get 
a  view  of  the  edifice.  St.  John's  Park,  which  contained  four 
acres,  is  said  to  have  once  presented,  besides  its  beautiful 
fountain  and  beds  of  rare  flowers,  a  greater  variety  of  trees 
and  shrubbery  than  any  other  spot  of  its  size  in  the  world. 
It  is  now  covered  with  the  Hudson  River  R.  R.  freight  de- 
pot,  ornamented  with  the  costly  bronze  statue  of  the  present 
railroad  king,  who  has  just  demolished  a  fine  church,  and 
many  other  costly  structures  in  another  part  of  the  city,  to 
make  place  for  the  erection  of  another  immense  depot,  the 
largest  on  the  continent.  Stuyvesant  square  contains  four 
acres,  and  was  presented  to  the  city  by  the  late  Peter  G. 
Stuyvesant. 

Tompkins  square  contains  ten  acres,  and  is  much  used  as 
a  place  of  military  parade.  It  contains  few  ornaments. 
Washington  square  was  formerly  the  Potter's  Field,  and  was 
thus  used  during  the  Yellow  Fever  periods  of  1797-1798, 
1801-1803.  It  contained  until  recently  nine  and  a  half 
acres,  and  is  believed  to  have  received  the  bodies  of  125,000 
strangers.  The  recent  extension  of  Fifth  avenue  has  some- 
what marred  this  beautiful  park,  by  forcing  a  wide  street 
through  its  center. 

Union  and  Madison  are  very  attractive  centers,  surrounded 
with  high  iron  enclosures,  containing  beautiful  fountains 
seats  for  visitors,  and  a  fine  growth  of  young  trees. 

Murray  Hill  Park,  adjoining  the  distributing  reservoir,  is 
being  much  improved,  though  the  absence  of  shade  has  hith- 
erto prevented  it  from  being  a  place  of  general  resort  for  the 
neighborhood.  New  parks  are  being  formed  on  the  upper 
parts  of  the  island,  among  wThich  we  mention  Observatory 


160 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


Place,  containing  26  acres ;  Manhattan  square,  containing  19 
acres ;  and  Mount  Morris,  containing  20  acres. 

Central  Park,  the  largest  of  all,  was  laid  out  in  1857;  is 
two  and  a  half  miles  long,  three-fifths  of  a  mile  wide,  con- 
tains 81:3  acres,  and  is  twice  as  large  as  the  renowned  Hyde 


CENTRAL  PAHK  PLAYGROUND. 


Park  of  London.  It  has  cost  in  the  purchase  of  land,  and  its 
improvements,  over  $11,000,000  ;  and  is  now  maintained  and 
steadily  improved,  at  an  annual  expense  of  $250,000.  It 
has  twelve  grand  entrances,  contains  five  and  a  half  miles  of 
bridle  path,  nine  and  a  half  of  carriage  roads,  twenty-seven 
miles  of  walks,  so  admirably  arranged  with  arched  passage- 
ways, that  the  pedestrian  is  never  obliged  to  step  on  the  car- 
riage or  bridle  ways.  Near  the  south-east  corner  stands  a 
large  three-story  stone  building,  formerly  a  State  arsenal. 
This  lias  been  purchased  by  the  Park  Commissioners,  and 
was,  until  recently,  filled  with  animals  and  serpents,  with 


PARKS  AND  SQUARES. 


161 


many  ancient  and  modern  curiosities.  It  has  recently  been 
rejuvenated,  and  adapted  to  the  convenience  of  a  Society  lately 
incorporated,  and  known  as  the  "  American  Museum  of  Nat- 
ural History."    This  society  has  in  a  short  time  collected  an 


CENTRAL  PARK  CHILDREN'S  SHKLTKR. 


astonishing  number  of  stuffed  and  mounted  birds,  serpents, 
mammals,  fishes,  insects,  and  other  curious  skeletons,  valued 
at  more  than  $100,000  ;  and  rendering  their  Museum  one  of 
the  most  attractive  centres  for  the  naturalist,  the  antiquarian, 
or  the  curious,  on  the  entire  island.  The  building  contains 
three  stories,  and  the  collection  is  so  arranged  for  exhibition, 
that  the  visitor  is  enabled  to  contemplate  by  progressive 
stages  the  various  phases  of  animal  life  from  its  lowest  to  its 
highest  developments.  On  the  first  floor  he  finds  sponges 
from  the  East  Indies,  dome-shaped  corals,  and  specimens  of 


162 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


the  lowest  known  orders  of  animal  existence.  lie  next  finds 
hundreds  of  specimens  of  fishes,  including  the  dolphin,  blad- 
der fish,  etc.  Reptiles  follow,  with  a  fine  exhibit  of  the  boa 
constrictor.  Cases  are  devoted  to  conchology,  exhibiting  the 
principal  mollusca  found  in  the  different  parts  of  the  world. 
10,000  specimens  of  Lepidoptera,  presented  by  C.  T.  Robin- 
son, exhibit  all  known  varieties  of  American  and  European 
moths  and  butterflies.  4,000  varieties  of  beetles  and  other 
insects  have  been  presented  by  Baron  Osten-Sacken.  Birds 
from  all  countries,  exhibiting  nearly  every  variety  of  size, 
habit,  and  plumage,  from  the  humming-bird  to  the  eagle,  are 
interestingly  grouped.  The  collection  of  mammals  exhibits 
the  kangaroo,  fox,  tiger,  wild  boar,  ibex,  leopard,  lion,  camel, 
stag ;  all  crowned  on  the  upper  floor  with  a  large  variety  of 
monkeys,  which  form  the  climax  of  the  lower  tribes,  and  ap- 
proach nearest  to  man.  The  entire  collection  of  the  late 
Prince  Maximilian,  comprising  7,000  specimens,  and  various 
large  and  small  collections,  have  been  here  classified  for  the 
study  of  the  people.  The  first  reception  was  given  by  the 
managers  of  the  Museum  on  the  27th  of  April,  1871,  to  a 
thousand  delighted  visitors.  A  large  and  eligible  structure 
is  soon  to  be  erected  on  Manhattan  square  for  this  Museum 
of  natural  history  ;  also  appropriate  accommodations  for  the 
Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art.  The  Department  of  Public 
Works  has  been  empowered  to  proceed  with  the  arrangement 
of  these  structures,  at  an  expense  not  exceeding  $500,000  for 
each.  The  trustees  of  the  Museum  of  Natural  History  de- 
sign it  to  equal,  if  not  surpass,  any  similar  institution  in  the 
world. 

Around  the  arsenal  are  buildings  and  cages  with  bears, 
eagles,  serpents,  and  numerous  other  varieties  of  animals. 
The  collection  of  rare  living  animals,  reptiles,  and  birds  is 
very  large,  numbering  in  all  about  six  hundred,  or  over  one 
hundred  and  thirty  varieties. 

On  the  northern  extremity  of  the  Park,  stands  what  was 
originally  St.  Vincent's  Convent.    The  chapel  of  this  has 


PARKS  AND  SQUARES. 


163 


been  remodeled  and  decorated,  and  now  contains  the  statuary, 
one  of  the  most  attractive  collections  in  the  country.  A  little 
north-east  of  this  building  are  the  nursery  grounds,  covering 
two  and  a  half  acres,  where  choice  trees  and  shrubs  are  grown. 
Contiguous  thereto  is  a  vegetable  garden,  containing  speci- 
mens of  most  of  the  esculents  that  will  thrive  in  this  climate, 
properly  arranged,  and  the  name  of  each  so  conspicuously 
placed,  that  a  person  passing  by  can  readily  recognize  it.  A 
spacious  greenhouse,  with  approved  heating  apparatus,  has  re- 
cently been  added,  to  preserve  the  tropical  collection  which 
has  recently  been  greatly  increased,  353  valuable  plants  being- 
donated  at  one  time  by  James  Lenox,  Esq.,  and  71  by  Dr 
Wood. 

A  large  zoological  garden  is  being  constructed,  with  un- 
derground accommodations  for  bears,  seals,  the  walrus,  bea- 
ver, etc. 

The  best  meteorological  observatory  in  the  country  has  been 
established,  and  a  fine  astronomical  observatory  is  soon  to  be 
completed. 

A  Palaeozoic  Museum,  containing  life-size  representations 
of  most  of  the  animals  believed  to  have  existed  in  America, 
during  the  secondary  and  post-tertiary  geological  periods,  is 
being  prepared.  This  will  certainly  be  a  cabinet  of  great 
interest. 

A  line  of  stages  now  carry  visitors  through  the  Park,  halt- 
ing at  its  chief  places  of  attraction.  No  pains  or  expense  are 
spared  to  make  the  Park  all  the  most  fastidious  could  desire. 
A  bronze  figure  for  a  fountain  has  just  been  cast  in  Munich 
for  the  Commissioners,  and  the  basin  for  the  same  is  a  block 
of  polished  Westerly  granite,  seventeen  feet  square.  Several 
costly  and  ornamental  structures  for  the  sale  of  pictures,  re- 
freshments, and  mineral  waters,  have  recently  been  erected. 

The  site  of  this  Park  was  originally  perhaps  the  most  bro- 
ken of  the  island,  and  considered  by  many  irredeemable : 
yet  the  toil  of  thousands  of  men,  aided  by  powerful  machin- 
ery, has  crushed  the  rocks,  so  graded  and  enriched  the  sur- 


164 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


face,  as  to  have  made  the  "desert  blossom  as  the  rose." 
Verdant  lawns  spread  away,  where  only  rocks  and  poisonous 
laurel  once  appeared.  Trees  from  all  countries  wave  in  the 
breeze  and  the  broken  places  still  remaining  are  so  artfully 


CENTRAL  PARK  CASCADE. 


concealed  with  dense  rows  of  choice  shrubbery,  that  the  de- 
lighted visitor  rarely  discovers  them.  Appropriate  space  is 
laid  out  for  ball  play  and  military  parade.  Placid  lakes  cov- 
ering forty -three  acres,  dotted  in  summer  with  pleasure  boats 
and  snow-white  swan,  are  no  less  attractive  to  skating  par- 
ties in  winter.  The  Commissioners  offered  §4,000  for  the 
best  plan  for  laying  out  this  plot  of  ground,  and  thirty-five 
studies  were  presented,  some  of  which  came  from  Europe. 
Mr.  F.  L.  Olmsted  and  Mr.  C.  Yaux  proved  the  successful 
competitors.  The  millions  already  invested  in  this  undertak- 
ing have  by  no  means  completed  the  improvements  of  this 
imperial  park.  Thus  far  they  have  made  wonderful  pro- 
gress.   The  portion  completed  is  so  finely  ornamented  with 


parks  and  squares. 


165 


fountains,  terraces,  stairways,  arcades,  sculpture,  statuary, 
rustic  arbors,  and  pavilions,  that  one  wearies  with  the  re- 
peated yet  ever-diversified  exhibitions  of  genius,  beauty,  and 
taste.  It  is  the  favorite  resort  of  all  classes,  and  is  visited  by 
about  ten  millions  annually. 


CENTRAL  PARK  MINERAL  SPRINGS. 


_  A  stranger,  spending  a  day  in  New  York,  should  pass 
through  Broadway,  Washington  market,  ascend  Trinity  stee- 
ple, and  visit  Central  Park.  In  the  first,  while  he  thinks  of 
a  Vanity  fair,"  his  attention  will  be  perpetually  attracted  to 
objects  of  unrivaled  and  substantial  costliness  ;  and  at  the  mar- 
ket will  behold  such  an  accumulation  of  commodities,  and 
commingling  of  nationalities,  as  none  can  well  describe.  From 
Trinity  steeple,  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  pavement, 
he  obtains  a  bird's-eye  view  of  neighboring  cities,  of  the  broad 
rivers  and  bay  whose  waters  are  whitened  with  ten  thousand 
sails  ;  he  hears  the  distant  roar  of  innumerable  wheels,  and 
looks  down  upon  the  masses  of  diminutive  creatures  that  are 
ceaselessly  surging  below.  At  the  Park  everything  is  charm- 
ing, nature  on  parade  in  her  gayest  and  sweetest  attire. 


VIII. 


HOW  NEW  YORK  IS  SUPPLIED  WITH  WATEH. 


EFORE  the  introduction  of  the  Croton,  the 
inhabitants  of  Manhattan  suffered  perpet- 
ual perils  from  fires,  drought,  and  the  im- 
purities of  their  daily  beverage. 

A  liberal  supply  of  pure  water  is  one  of 
the  first  conditions  of  health  and  happiness, 
any  people ;  but  how  to  thus  supply  a  vast 
city  has  been  a  question  that  has  agitated  the 
Solomons,  the  Caesars,  and  the  Montezumas. 
For  many  years  the  inhabitants  of  Manhattan  de- 
pended upon  public  and  private  wells.  In  1659,  there  were 
eleven  public  wells  in  the  little  city— two  in  Wall  street,  three 
in  Broadway,  four  in  Broad  street,  and  two  on  the  East  river 
side.  These  were  used  for  watering  horses  and  extinguish- 
ing fires,  the  families  mainly  depending  upon  private  wells  in 
their  own  yards.  As  the  city  enlarged,  the  demand  for 
water  increased  ;  various  schemes  were  discussed  and  experi- 
ments vainly  tried,  during  half  a  century,  until  a  board  of 
Commissioners  finally  took  the  matter  resolutely  in  hand,  and 
after  eight  years  of  study  and  toil,  completed  in  1842  the 
most  extensive  and  magnificent  enterprise  of  the  kind  in 
modern  times.  A  dam  thrown  across  Croton  river  raised  the 
water  forty  feet,  forming  Croton  lake.  The  aqueduct  proper 
is  constructed  of  stone,  brick,  and  cement,  arched  above  and 
below,  is  seven  and  a  half  feet  wide,  and  eight  and  a  half 
high,  with  an  inclination  of  thirteen  inches  to  the  mile ;  the 
flow  of  water  for  some  years  was  about  twenty-seven  million 
gallons  daily,  but  at  present  reaches  nearly  sixty  millions,  its 
full  capacity.    In  Westchester  county  it  crosses  twenty-five 


HOW  NEW  YORK  IS  SUPPLIED  WITH  WATER. 


167 


streams,  averaging  from  twelve  to  seventy  feet  below  the  line 
of  grade,  besides  numerous  brooks  furnished  with  culverts. 
The  water  is  carried  across  Harlem  river  in  vast  iron 
pipes  on  a  bridge  of  granite,  1450  feet  long,  which  is  sup- 
ported by  fifteen  arches,  the  crown  of  the  highest  being  100 
feet  above  high-water  mark,  to  prevent  interference  with 
navigation.  Two  deep  valleys  are  ingeniously  crossed,  be- 
tween this  river  and  the  receiving  reservoir  opposite  Eighty- 
sixth  street,  which  covers  thirty-live  acres,  and  contains 
150,000,000  gallons.  Several  years  since  a  retaining  reser- 
voir was  added,  covering  over  100  acres,  and  thirty-eight  feet 
deep,  capable  of  holding  one  billion  and  thirty  million  gal- 
lons. Two  large  reservoirs  have  just  been  constructed — the 
"  Storage  reservoir,"  and  the  "  High  Service  "  at  Carmansville. 
From  the  receiving  to  the  distributing  reservoir,  a  distance 
of  two  and  one-fourth  miles,  the  water  is  conducted  through 
several  lines  of  iron  pipe  three  or  four  feet  in  diameter.  The 
distributing  reservoir  for  the  principal  part  of  the  city  stands 
on  Murray  Hill,  between  Fortieth  and  Forty-second  streets, 
fronting  on  Fifth  avenue.  It  covers  more  than  four  acres,  is 
divided  into  two  parts,  is  40  feet  above  the  pavements,  115 
above  tide-water,  and  holds  twenty  million  gallons.  The 
entire  distance  from  Croton  lake  to  Murray  Hill  is  forty-one 
and  a  half  miles.  Three  hundred  and  forty  miles  of  main 
pipe  have  been  laid,  to  carry  the  water  through  the  city. 
The  water  has  been  introduced  into  67,000  dwelling-houses 
and  stores,  into  1,624  manufactories,  307  churches,  into  290 
buildings  used  as  hospitals,  prisons,  schools,  or  public  build- 
ings, and  into  14  markets.  Seventy-two  drinking  hydrants 
are  now  in  use  in  the  city.  The  Croton  water  supplies  Sing 
Sing  prison,  all  the  Institutions  of  Blackwell's,  Randall's,  and 
Ward's  Islands,  forms  the  numerous  artificial  lakes  and  ponds 
in  Central  Park,  the  fountains  in  all  the  other  parks,  is  used 
for  sprinkling  the  streets,  and  extinguishing  fires.  Its  origi- 
nal cost  was  about  nine  millions,  but  the  continual  expense  of 
repairs,  building  of  new  reservoirs,  and  of  pipes,  have  swelled 


168 


NEW  YOKE  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


the  amount  to  nearly  forty  millions,  a  great  but  never-to-be 
regretted  expenditure. 

A  water  tax  is  imposed  on  every  building  supplied,  which 
is  graduated  according  to  the  size  of  the  structure.  A  one- 
story  of  sixteen  feet  width  is  taxed  $4,  a  live-story  with  a 
width  of  twenty-five  feet,  $12  per  annum.  In  manufacto- 
ries, the  Commissioners  design  to  collect  one  cent  for  every 
one  hundred  gallons  used,  as  nearly  as  may  be.  The  water 
tax  during  1871  amounted  to  $1,254,735,29,  and  since  its  in- 
troduction in  1842  to  over  $19,752,354.  In  November,  1868, 
the  water  was  shut  off  for  five  days,  for  the  inspection  and  re- 
pairing of  the  aqueduct.  During  the  suspension  of  the  flow 
of  water,  the  reservoirs  were  reduced  over  nine  feet,  remind- 
ing us  that  if  the  supply  should  be  cut  off,  our  hydrants  would 
fail  in  about  fifteen  days.  The  Croton  ranks  among  the  pur- 
est streams  of  the  world.  Its  waters  are  collected  in  a 
district  of  352  square  miles.  Mountains  and  hills  of  azoic 
gneiss  receive  the  rainfall,  which  is  filtered  by  the  pure  sili- 
cious  sands  and  gravels,  to  gush  out  in  numberless  springs  and 
brooks,  which  flow  in  sparkling  transparency  to  the  lake,  the 
great  reservoir.  Here  the  sediments  are  mainly  deposited, 
before  the  aqueduct  is  reached.  A  stone  wall  has  been 
thrown  around  the  lake,  to  isolate  the  drainage  from  the  sur- 
rounding farms.  A  careful  analysis  of  the  water  shows  that 
the  amount  of  impurity  during  a  whole  summer  amounted 
to  but  4.45  grains  per  gallon,  or  7.63  parts  in  100,000. 

Dublin  is  the  only  city  in  Europe  supplied  with  water  as 
pure  as  the  Croton,  and  Boston,  Philadelphia,  and  Trenton, 
only  in  America.  Nine  old  wells  were  filled  and  covered  in 
1868,  though  two  or  three  hundred  still  exist.  Their  waters  are 
greatly  polluted,  and  are  fruitful  sources  of  disease,  the  only 
remedy— -filling  them  all — should  be  promptly  attended  to. 

By  means  of  a  new  purchase  of  water-right  in  the  spring 
of  1870,  the  volume  of  water  during  the  dry  season  has  been 
much  increased,  and  the  city  saved  from  any  anxiety  in  re- 
lation to  the  supply  of  this  indispensable  element. 


IX. 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  COLLEGES  OF  NEW  YORK. 


HEADQUARTERS  OP  NEW  YORK  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION. 
(Corner  Grand  and  Elm.) 


The  early  Dutch  settlers  of  Manhattan  were  educated  in 
the  first  common  schools  known  in  Europe,  and  have  the 
immortal  honor  of  establishing  the  first  on  this  continent,  for 
the  education  of  all  classes  of  society,  at  the  public  expense 


170 


NEW  YOEK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


The  Dutch  government  bound  the  company  to  support  minis- 
ters and  schoolmasters,  and  the  company  imposed  the  same 
obligation  on  the  patroons,  in  their  respective  agricultural 
colonies.  Here,  as  in  the  mother-country,  the  schools  were 
under  the  direction  of  the  established  church  ;  the  importance 
of  a  secular  education  for  all,  controlled  by  the  state,  ana 
untrammelled  by  denominationalism,  was  not  yet  understood. 
The  offices  of  minister  and  schoolmaster  appear  to  have 
been  united  in  one  person,  during  the  reign  of  Peter  Minuits, 
the  first  governor,  but  were  divided  at  the  advent  of  his  suc- 
cessor, in  1633.  During  the  first  forty  years,  the  schools 
were  held  in  such  premises  as  could  be  obtained.  An  effort 
indeed  appears  to  have  been  made  to  erect  a  school-house  in 
16-12,  but  the  funds  raised  for  this  purpose  were  again  and 
again  diverted  for  the  common  defence  against  the  Indians, 
who  roamed  over  nearly  the  whole  island,  so  that  no  building 
for  school  purposes  was  probably  erected  until  after  the  Eng- 
lish occupation.  Peter  Stuyvesant  evidently  took  considera- 
ble interest  in  education,  for  at  his  surrender  of  the  colony 
to  the  English,  there  were  in  New  Amsterdam,  a  town  of 
fifteen  hundred  inhabitants,  twelve  or  fifteen  private,  and 
three  public  schools,  besides  a  Latin  school  established  in 
1659,  whose  reputation  had  attracted  students  from  various 
parts  of  the  continent.  With  the  transfer  of  the  government 
from  the  Dutch  to  the  English,  the  public  support  of  the 
schools  (save  to  the  Latin,  which  continued  but  a  few  years) 
was  withdrawn.  The  sturdy  Dutch,  however,  kept  on  the  even 
tenor  of  their  way  for  many  years,  both  in  church  and  school. 
The  "  School  of  the  "Reformed  Protestant  Dutch  Church,'- 
now  conducted  at  No.  160  West  Twenty-ninth  street,  dates 
back  in  its  origin  to  the  Dutch  dynasty,  and  is  probably  the 
oldest  educational  institution  in  the  country,  its  managers 
having,  however,  imbibed  the  enlightened  sentiments  of  their 
cotemporaries.  Early  in  the  eighteenth  century,  English 
schools  became  somewhat  common  in  New  York,  and  on 
Long  Island.    In  1710,  the  school  still  existing  and  known  as 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  COLLEGES  OF  NEW  YORK. 


171 


"  Trinity  School,"  was  established  by  William  Huddlestone, 
under  the  direction  of  a  society  connected  with  the  English 
church,  and  in  1754,  King's  College  (now  Columbia)  was  es- 
tablished. The  Dutch  struggled  long  and  zealously  against 
the  extinction  of  the  language  and  customs  of  their  country, 
and  as  late  as  1755  imported  a  zealous  Holland  schoolmaster, 
who  served  them  with  great  acceptability  for  eighteen  years, 
but  was  mournfully  compelled  ere  his  death  to  introduce 
English  studies  in  the  school,  and  to  listen  to  preaching  in 
the  English  language  in  the  church.  The  capture  of  New 
York  by  the  British,  in  1776,  was  the  signal  for  closing  the 
schools,  which  continued  until  the  evacuation,  seven  years 
after. 

It  was  not  until  near  the  close  of  the  last  century  that  the 
public  mind  was  aroused  to  the  importance  of  providing  the 
means  for  the  general  education  of  the  people.  From  the 
establishment  of  the  English  government  in  1664,  down  to 
1795,  all  efforts  to  educate  the  masses  were  made  by  individ- 
uals, or  by  local  churches ;  but  in  the  year  last  named,  in 
compliance  with  the  recommendation  of  that  enlightened 
governor,  George  Clinton,  the  New  York  Legislature  passed 
an  act,  appropriating  $50,000  a  year  for  five  years,  for  the 
maintenance  of  schools  in  the  several  cities  and  towns  of  the 
State,  in  which  the  children  should  be  taught  English  gram- 
mar, arithmetic,  mathematics,  and  such  other  branches  of 
knowledge  as  are  necessary  to  complete  a  good  English 
education.  In  1805,  the  State  government  set  apart  the  net 
proceeds  from  the  sale  of  500,000  acres  of  vacant  lands,  for  a 
permanent  fund,  for  the  support  of  common  schools,  to  be 
securely  invested  until  the  interest  thereof  should  amount  to 
$50,000  per  annum,  which  sum  was  to  be  annually  divided 
between  the  several  school  districts,  according  to  the  number 
of  their  scholars.  This  fund  was  further  increased  by  the 
proceeds  of  certain  bank  stocks  and  of  the  lotteries  author- 
ized by  the  Act  of  1803.  The  first  distribution  occurred  in 
1815.    A  little  previous  to  this  movement  in  the  Legislature, 

13 


t 


172  NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 

organizations  began  to  spring  up,  both  in  Europe  and  Amer- 
ica, for  the  education  of  the  poor  and  the  neglected.  The 
"  Manumission  Society,"  to  improve  the  condition  of  the 
colored  race,  organized  in  1785,  was  the  first  in  our  country, 
and  two  years  later  it  established  a  school  in  Cliff  street,  and 
soon  gathered  one  hundred  pupils.  This  society  continued 
its  work  for  forty  years,  firmly  established  several  schools, 
but  in  1834,  voluntarily  surrendered  its  charge  with  consid- 
erable valuable  school  property  to  the  State  government. 
These  are  now  the  Colored  Schools,  under  control  of  the 
Board  of  Education.  A  "  Eemale  Association  for  the  Relief 
of  the  Poor,"  was  organized,  and  in  1802  opened  a  school 
for  white  girls.  This  society  existed  about  half  a  century, 
proved  the  feasibility  of  such  undertakings,  and  led  to  the 
organization  of  the  "  Free  School  Society,"  which  afterwards 
became  the  "  Public  School  Society  of  the  City  of  New 
York."  The  "  Lancaster  system,"  viz. :  that  five  hundred  or 
a  thousand  children  could  be  properly  instructed  by  a  single 
teacher,  then  very  popular  in  England,  was  introduced  into 
this  city,  and  in  due  time  failed.  In  1827,  a  number  of 
ladies  organized  the  "  Infant  School  Society,"  and  the  next 
year  the  same  was  introduced  into  Boston,  Charleston,  and 
other  places.  The  movement  now  looks  to  us  supremely 
silly.  Children  were  received  into  these  schools  in  New 
York  at  from  two  to  six  years  of  age,  and  in  Boston,  always 
in  the  advance,  at  from  eighteen  months  to  four  years.  The 
system  of  instruction  adopted  was  the  "  Pestalozzian,"  and 
does  not  differ  materially  from  the  course  pursued  at  present, 
by  most  infant-class  teachers,  in  our  Sunday  schools. 

The  "  Free  School  Society,"  afterwards  the  "  Public  School 
Society,"  incorporated  in  1805,  managed  by  many  of  the 
wisest  and  purest  men  of  the  State,  was  for  nearly  half  a 
century  the  great  educational  power  of  the  city,  if  not  of  the 
country  as  well,  and  its  managers  deserve  the  lasting  praise 
of  posterity.  Singularly  wise  in  counsel,  and  economic  in 
management,  collecting  vast  sums  among  its  friends,  employ- 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  COLLEGES  OF  NEW  YORK. 


173 


ing  millions  from  the  public  treasury  without  ever  inten- 
tionally squandering  a  dollar,  it  ran  the  most  unselfish  and 


NEW  YORK  FREE  SCHOOL  BUILDING,  OPEXED  IN  1809  IN  TRYON  ROW. 


brilliant  career  in  the  annals  of  popular  education.  Still, 
it  came  to  be  questioned  whether  the  work  of  a  whole  com- 
munity should  be  surrendered  to  the  few,  and  whether  the 
State  did  wisely  in  committing  the  funds  for  the  education 
of  the  children,  and  the  erection  of  suitable  buildings,  into 
the  hands  of  a  private  corporation,  whose  affairs  might  not 
always  be  managed  by  men  as  wise  and  good ;  and  after 
considerable  agitation,  in  April,  1842,  the  Legislature  passed 
an  act,  by  which  the  Board  of  Education,  whose  members 
were,  until  recently,  elected  by  the  people,  was  organized. 
During  the  next  eleven  years,  the  two  organizations  continued 
their  independent  operations,  but  the  Public  School  Society, 
shorn  of  its  former  income  from  the  State  treasury,  found 
its  embarrassments  continually  multiplying,  until  it  finally 
accepted  a  proposition  from  the  Board  of  Education,  to  con- 
solidate the  two  interests,  which  was  practically  accomplished 


174 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


in  1S53.  The  property  transferred  by  this  society  to  the 
Board  of  Education,  though  somewhat  encumbered,  amounted 
to  $600,000,  but  the  fruit  of  their  toil,  evinced  in  the  intel- 
ligence and  virtue  of  the  generations  they  instructed,  was 
their  noblest  monument.  At  the  close  of  the  first  eighteen 
years  of  their  operations,  they  asserted  that  of  the  20,000 
poor  children  instructed  in  their  schools,  but  one  had  been 
traced  to  a  criminal  court.  During  the  forty-eight  years  of 
its  continuance,  it  had  under  instruction  no  less  than  600,000 
children,  of  whom  over  twelve  hundred  became  trained  teach- 
ers, and  one  acquainted  with  its  workings  declares,  that  of  a 
class  of  thirty-two  boys  in  1835,  two  have  since  been  judges 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  one  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  one 
a  City  Register,  several  Principals  and  Assistants  in  the 
schools,  one  an  Assistant  Superintendent,  one  a  clergyman, 
and  several  distinguished  merchants.  A  very  remarkable 
record  indeed  ! 

The  advantage  of  thus  uniting  these  great  educational 
interests,  and  of  combining  the  wisdom  and  skill  of  those 
trained  veterans,  who  had  so  thoroughly  solved  these  prob- 
lems, appears  in  the  present  condition  of  the  schools  of  our 
city,  which  in  discipline  and  scholarship  are  second  to  no 
other  in  the  world  The  Board  of  Education  consists  of 
twelve  Commissioners,  who  have  the  general  supervision  of 
the  schools,  the  appropriation  of  the  moneys  set  apart  for 
their  maintenance,  the  purchase  of  sites,  and  erection  of  new 
schools,  the  furnishing  of  supplies,  books,  stationery,  fuel, 
and  lights.  There  are  also  one  hundred  and  ten  Trustees, 
until  recently  elected  by  the  people,  rive  for  each  ward,  one 
being  chosen  each  year  for  a  term  of  five  years.  There  are 
also  twenty-one  Inspectors  of  schools,  who  were,  until  very 
recently  nominated  by  the  Mayor,  and  confirmed  by  the 
Board  of  Education.  The  members  of  a  late  Legislature, 
madly  intent  on  the  one-man  power,  vested  the  entire  school 
authority  of  the  city  in  the  Mayor.  lie  is  henceforth  to 
appoint  the  Board  of  Education,  the  Inspectors,  and  all  the 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  COLLEGES  OF  NEW  YORK.  175 


Trustees  in  the  several  wards,  completely  absolving  the 
people  from  all  responsibility  in  directing  and  regulating  a 


GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  NO.  56  FOR  FEMALES. 

( West  Eighteenth  street ;  erected  1S69.) 


matter,  more  than  any  other,  connected  with  the  happiness 
and  success  of  their  children. 

There  are  now  ninety  school-buildings  owned  by  the  city, 
besides  numerous  hired  ones,  which  cover  more  than  twenty 
acres  of  ground,  and  the  floors  above  the  basements  of  the 
same,  about  seventy  acres  additional.  The  old  buildings 
were  plain  as  will  be  seen  by  the  accompanying  cut,  but 
many  of  those  recently  erected  cover  several  lots  of  ground, 
are  lofty  and  elegant  structures,  with  several  fire-proof  stair- 
ways, and  all  necessary  apartments  for  the  complete  accom- 
modation of  two  thousand  scholars.    The  second  cut  repre- 


17G 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


sents  the  new  building  in  West  Eighteenth  street,  and 
contrasts  favorably  with  the  one  erected  in  1809. 

There  are  now  besides  the  thirty-six  corporate  schools  of 
the  several  benevolent  societies,  and  which  are  partly  under 
the  control  of  the  Board  of  Education,  sixty-three  Grammar 
schools,  which  are  divided  into  forty-six  departments  for 
male  scholars,  forty -four  for  female,  and  six  for  colored 
students.  There  are  fifty-six  Primary  departments,  fifteen 
evening  schools  for  males,  eleven  for  females,  and  three  for 
colored  children.  There  are  two  Normal  Schools,  and  one 
High  School.  The  Board  of  Education  employs  over  twen- 
ty-four hundred  teachers,  over  two  thousand  of  whom  are 
females.  The  number  of  scholars  on  register  during  1871 
was  235,405,  with  an  average  attendance  of  about  103,000. 
The  annual  expense  of  the  public  schools  amounts  to  about 
§3,000,000.  The  Board  of  Education  appoints  its  President 
and  Clerk,  also  the  City  Superintendent,  and  his  assistants. 
The  Superintendent  grants  two  grades  of  certificates,  to 
persons  of  suitable  age,  who  have  completed  the  course  of 
study,  after  which  they  may  be  appointed  to  teach.  The 
books  and  other  requisites  are  purchased  by  the  board  in 
large  quantities,  stored  at  a  central  depot,  and  distributed  to 
the  several  schools  when  needed. 

In  I860,  the  Free  Academy  was,  by  Act  of  Legislature, 
erected  into  the  College  of  the  City  of  New  York,  and  be- 
came a  separate  corporation,  the  members  of  the  board  of 
Education  being  ex  officio  members  of  its  board  of  trustees. 
Advanced  students  from  the  public  schools  are  admitted  with 
free  scholarship,  and  the  trustees  are  authorized  to  draw  on 
the  Board  of  Supervisors,  who  shall  raise  by  general  taxation 
a  sum  not  exceeding  SI 25,000  per  annum,  to  defray  the  ex- 
penditures of  the  institution.  Besides  these  general  provi- 
sions for  the  benefit  of  advanced  students,  there  are  several 
Academies  and  Colleges  belonging  to  the  Roman  Catholics, 
taught  by  Jesuits,  and  various  orders  of  Brothers  and  Sisters. 
Columbia  College,  the  oldest  in  the  State,  is  situated  on 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  COLLEGES  OF  NEW  YORK. 


177 


Fourth  avenue  and  Fiftieth  street.  It  has  departments  for 
law  and  mining,  and  a  separate  college  for  Physicians  and 
Surgeons.  It  is  under  the  control  of  the  Protestant  Episco- 
pal church,  and  has  a  property  of  several  millions.  The 
New  York  University,  a  large  four-story  Gothic  structure  of 
free-stone,  at  Washington  square,  was  founded  in  1S31,  has 
the  several  departments,  and  has  graduated  many  students. 
There  are  two  extensive  theological  seminaries  in  the  city. 


KUTGEKS  FEMALE  COLLEGE. 

(Fifth  avenue  and  Forty-first  street.) 


The  "  Union  Theological  Seminary  "  (Presbyterian),  founded 
in  1836,  and  open  for  students  from  all  denominations  who 
have  graduated  at  a  college.  The  trustees  of  this  Seminary 
last  year  purchased  four  acres  of  ground  on  St.  Nicholas 
avenue,  between  One  Hundred  and  Thirtieth  and  One  Hun- 
dred and  Thirty-second  streets,  and  are  now  erecting  new 
and  more  commodious  buildings,  which  it  will  require  several 


178  NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 

years  to  complete,  and  will  involve  an  expense  of  about 
half  a  million.  The  students  will  occupy  buildings  distinct 
from  the  Professors.  The  library  room  is  to  be  tire-proof, 
and  will  contain  about  28,000  rare  and  valuable  works.  The 
city  contains  also  the  "  General  Theological  Seminary  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church,"  established  at  New  Haven  in 
1819,  afterwards  removed  to  this  city,  and  located  on  Twen- 
tieth street,  between  Ninth  and  Tenth  avenues.  There  is 
prospect  of  this  being  removed  to  Westchester  or  to  some 
other  location  out  of  town.  There  are  beside  these,  ten  Med- 
ical Colleges  and  Academies,  several  Business  Colleges,  and 
a  number  of  institutions  of  a  high  order  for  girls,  Rutgers  Fe- 
male College,  on  Fifth  avenue,  opposite  the  reservoir,  rank- 
ing among  the  first.  An  effort  is  being  made  at  this  writing 
to  secure  an  endowment  of  $500,000,  to  greatly  enlarge  and 
improve  the  facilities  of  the  Institution.  Much  has  already 
been  secured,  and  the  complete  success  of  the  undertaking  is 
confidently  expected  by  the  friends  of  the  enterprise. 

Besides  the  schools  just  enumerated,  there  are  over  320  in- 
dependent ones,  large  and  small,  of  a  sectarian  and  miscella- 
neous character,  with  more  than  1,500  teachers.  It  is  to  be 
regretted  that  so  many  parish  and  other  schools,  not  con- 
trolled by  the  Board  of  Education,  have  come  into  existence 
for  the  perpetuation  of  antagonistic  creeds  and  nationalities. 
The  school  property  of  the  Board  of  Education  has  cost  over 
five  millions,  and  is  now  worth  twice  that  amount.  A  care- 
ful examination  has  proved  that  40,000  more  scholars  than 
ordinarily  attend  could  be  seated  in  the  present  buildings ; 
this  is  probably  as  many  or  more  than  are  taught  elsewhere. 
We  need  but  one  system,  and  one  organization,  to  control  the 
ordinary  branches  of  education.  Our  "  Free  "  "  Public" 
and  "Common"  schools,  notwithstanding  all  these  diver- 
sions, have  been  the  chief  glory  of  our  city  for  sixty  years, 
and  are  eminently  so  to-day.  Every  movement  toward  the 
division  of  the  School  Fund,  for  the  promotion  of  sectarian 
interest,  should  be  zealously  resisted  by  every  thoughtful 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  COLLEGES  OF  NEW  YORK.  179 


American.  Sectarian  schools  of  a  high  order  supported  by 
private  corporations,  for  a  few  advanced  students,  are  emin- 
ently proper  ;  but  the  State  should  always  control  the  secular 
education  of  all  the  children,  compelling  their  attendance. 
Our  children,  representing,  as  they  do,  nearly  every  national- 
ity, should  study  the  same  books,  in  the  same  buildings,  and 
play  in  the  same  yards.  Thus  only  can  that  homogeneity  be 
secured  that  shall  give  security  and  permanency  to  the  Re- 
public. The  State  also  should  ever,  as  now,  encourage  the 
reading  of  the  Bible  in  the  schools,  that  great  and  only  true 
educator  of  the  conscience ;  not,  indeed,  in  any  sectarian 
spirit,  but  from  great  and  manifest  civil  considerations. 


X. 


PUBLIC  SECURITY. 

METROPOLITAN"  POLICE    DEPARTMENT — METROPOLITAN  FIRE  DEPART- 
MENT THE    HEALTH    DEPARTMENT — QUARANTINE    DEPARTMENT — 

MARITIME  DEFENCES  UNITED   STATES   NAVY  YARD. 


METROPOLITAN  POLICE  HEADQUARTERS. 

(300  Mulberry  street.) 


The  Metropolitan  Police  service  has  grown,  from  small  and 
imperfect  beginnings,  to  be  a  great  and  effective  department 
of  the  city  government.  Many  experiments  and  numerous 
changes  of  government  and  reorganizations  have  contributed 


PUBLIC  SECURITY. 


181 


to  bring  the  force  to  its  present  efficiency.  Twenty-eight 
years  ago,  portions  of  the  city  were  patrolled  at  night  by  la- 
borers, porters,  cartmen,  &c,  each  carrying  a  lantern.  When 
a  regular  police  force  was  at  length  provided,  it  fell  under 
the  control  of  corrupt  officials  and  rings,  and  was  of  uncer- 
tain service  to  the  city,  until  the  Legislature  in  1857  took 
the  matter  in  hand,  and  provided  for  the  appointment  of  Po- 
lice Commissioners,  independent  of  all  city  control.  Since 
that,  the  department  has  rapidly  improved  in  discipline  and 
efficiency  until  now;  but  as  the  new  charter  of  1870  has 
again  lodged  the  appointing  power  in  the  Mayor  of  New 
York,  it  remains  to  be  seen  whether  the  same  untrammeled 
efficiency  in  the  maintenance  of  public  order  shall  be  con- 
tinued. The  metropolitan  district  was,  until  1870,  composed 
of  the  cities  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn,  and  of  portions  of 
Richmond,  Kings,  and  Westchester  counties,  which  were 
divided  into  43  precincts  and  several  sub-precincts.  At  the 
close  of  1869,  there  were  on  duty  in  New  York,  2,232  ;  in 
Brooklyn,  446  ;  in  Richmond  Co.,  29 ;  and  in  Westchester. 
22  ;  making  a  grand  total  of  2,729,  including  captains,  subor- 
dinates, and  patrolmen.  These  patroled  incessantly  about 
500  miles  of  open  streets  in  New  York,  350  in  Brooklyn,  the 
villages  of  Yonkers,  Tremont,  and  Morrisania,  while  a  few 
on  horseback  scour  the  suburbs  of  the  two  cities  mentioned, 
and  others  floated  around  the  rivers  and  bay. 

A  squad  of  forty-five  are  on  service  at  the  various  halls  of 
justice,  called  the  Court  Squad,  and  thirty-two  are  detailed  for 
special  service.  Five  are  in  charge  of  the  House  of  Deten- 
tion, at  No.  203  Mulberry-street.  This  is  a  prison  for  the 
detention  of  witnesses  who  are  to  give  evidence  in  the  trial  of 
culprits,  and  one  of  the  rankest  legal  abominations  of  New 
York.  During  1872,  227  men  and  55  women,  or  282  wit- 
nesses, were  detained  in  this  gloomy  tenement  an  aggregate 
of  12  years,  10  months,  and  8  days.  During  the  fourteen 
years  just  passed,  4,814  persons  have  here  been  detained  as  wit- 
nesses, and  the  aggregate  of  such  detention  has  amounted  to 


182 


NEW  YOKE  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


83,173  days,or  nearly  228  years.  One  poor  victim  of  this  op- 
pressive law  was  detained  269  days  awaiting  the  trial  of  the 
case,  about  which  he  was  supposed  to  know  something,  leav- 
ing his  family,  wholly  dependent  upon  him,  to  suffer  every 
form  of  destitution.  lie  was  an  honest  mechanic,  charged 
with  no  crime,  but  unfortunately  knew  something  of  the 
crimes  of  others.  During  1872,  5  persons  were  detained 
over  100  days  each,  18  over  60  days  each,  31  over  40  days 
each,  and  51  over  20  days  each.  It  is  due  to  the  Commis- 
sioners to  say,  that  they  have  again  and  again  appealed  to  the 
Legislature  for  the  modification  of  this  system,  by  allowing 
the  depositions  of  these  witnesses  to  be  taken  in  due  form, 
after  which  they  might  be  allowed  to  return  to  their  homes 
and  occupations. 

The  Sanitary  Squad  consists  of  a  captain,  three  sergeants, 
and  forty-eight  patrolmen.  A  detachment  of  these  look 
after  the  safety  and  workings  of  the  numerous  ferry  lines 
communicating  with  New  York,  and  tell  us  that  about  ninety 
million  people  cross  on  these  lines  to  or  from  the  metropolis 
in  a  year.  Others  test  hydrostatically  at  intervals,  and  by 
course,  every  steam  boiler  on  the  island ;  causing  defective 
ones  to  be  repaired  or  removed.  They  examine  and  license 
suitablre  persons  as  engineeers.  Others  execute  the  orders  of 
the  Board  of  Health.  Still  another  detachment  looks  after 
truant  children,  compelling  thousands  to  return  to  school,  and 
conveying  some  to  the  Juvenile  Asylum.  Some  members  of 
the  Sanitary  Squad  have  ranked  among  the  most  pious,  bene- 
volent, and  useful  men  of  New  York.  The  Detective  Squad 
consists  of  a  captain  and  twenty-six  subordinates.  These  are 
all  shrewd,  adroit,  and  skillful  men  of  good  reputation,  whose 
business  it  is  to  unravel  the  deepest  schemes,  ferret  out  the 
darkest  crimes,  and  entrap  the  shrewdest  villains.  Their 
knowledge  of  polite  thieves,  counterfeiters,  forgers,  and  bur- 
glars, is  very  extensive.  Great  thieves  are  continually 
watched  by  them,  so  that  they  know  at  once  whether  they 
were  in  a  city  at  the  time  of  a  robbery  or  not.    They  scent 


PUBLIC  SECURITY. 


1S3 


crime  across  a  continent,  even  across  the  ocean.  A  man 
hitherto  considered  reputable  is  arrested  for  forgery  or 
burglary,  and  it  comes  to  be  known  that  the  detective  can 
tell  how  much  money  his  wife  has  expended  in  the  city  for 
twelve  months.  Though  living  in  private  quarters  all  her 
movements  have  been  watched,  and  all  her  purchases  ascer- 
tained and  recorded.  They  grasp  at  every  clue,  and  follow 
it  to  its  result,  often  discovering  the  perpetrator  of  crime 
from  the  slightest  accident.  When  men  who  have  spent 
their  money  set  up  the  plea  of  having  been  robbed,  the  de- 
tective is  sure  to  search  them  out,  and  expose  them.  Mil- 
lions of  dollars  worth  of  stolen  goods  are  annually  recovered 
by  this  force,  but  with  all  their  art,  some  great  rogues  escape. 
Horrible  murders  and  bold  robberies  remain  veiled  in  im- 
penetrable mystery.  Much  of  this  detective  work  is  per- 
formed by  the  "  Merchants'  Independent  Detective  Police," 
established  in  1858,  and  by  members  of  the  several  other  de- 
tective organizations. 

The  headquarters  of  the  Police  department  are  a  fine  mar- 
ble structure,  at  No.  300  Mulberry  street,  containing  elegant 
offices  for  all  the  officials,  with  telegraphic  communications 
with  every  station-house  in  the  department  ;  rooms  for  the 
instruction  of  candidates  for  the  force,  and  for  the  trial  of 
offenders.  The  Commissioners  are  very  strict  with  the  mem- 
bers of  the  force,  fining  and  discharging  many  for  derelic- 
tion, intemperance,  or  other  vicious  habits.  The  pay  of  a 
patrolman  is  $1,200  per  annum,  but  as  he  has  no  Sabbath,  or 
other  privileges,  such  as  most  men  enjoy,  his  compensation  is 
not  large.  Men  are  selected  and  distributed  according  to 
their  fitness  for  the  different  undertakings.  The  tallest  are 
stationed  along  Broadway,  those  with  mechanical  knowledge 
tend  toward  the  Sanitary,  and  those  of  penetration  and 
adroitness,  toward  the  Detective  squads.  Their  appearance 
is  always  that  of  tidy,  well-dressed,  courteous  officers,  erect  and 
manly  in  bearing,  and  in  the  prime  of  life,  the  average  age 
being  about  thirty-five  years. 


184 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


During  the  last  eleven  years,  the  police  have  returned  over 
73,000  lost  children  to  their  parents  or  homes,  and  found 
above  40,000  houses  left  open,  through  the  carelessness  of  in- 
mates, affording  unembarrassed  opportunities  for  the  entrance 
of  thieves  and  burglars.  That  policemen  are  sometimes  rash, 
unduly  severe  and  evil,  we  doubt  not ;  yet  the  regulations 
and  discipline  of  the  department  are  so  severe,  as  to  render 
them  generally  effective,  and  without  them  nothing  would 
be  safe  for  a  day.  They  are  distinguished  for  their  valor, 
and  their  numerous  bloody  encounters  with  rioters,  and  vil- 
lains of  every  grade,  are  well  known  and  startling.  During 
1872  they  arrested  no  less  than  60,179  males,  and  24,335  fe- 
males, making  a  total  of  84,514. 


METROPOLITAN  FIRE  DEPARTMENT. 

Manhattan  has  several  times  been  sadly  impoverished  with 
conflagrations.  On  September  21st,  1776,  while  the  British 
were  in  possession  of  the  city,  a  fire  broke  out  in  a  wooden 
grogshop,  near  Whitehall  Slip,  and  as  there  were  then  no  en- 
gines in  the  city,  and  the  men  were  mostly  in  the  army,  little 
resistance  could  be  offered.  493  buildings  were  destroyed, 
reducing  the  impoverished  population  to  great  suffering. 

On  the  ninth  of  August,  1778,  the  second  great  conflagra- 
tion occurred.  This  began  in  Dock,  now  Pearl  street,  and 
consumed  nearly  300  buildings.  In  May,  1811,  another  fire 
broke  out  in  Chatham  street,  when  nearly  100  houses  were 
destroyed.  In  182S  a  large  fire  occurred,  and  nearly  a  mil- 
lion dollars  of  property  was  destroyed.  The  most  destruct- 
ive fire,  however,  occurred  in  1835.  It  began  on  the  night 
ox  the  sixteenth  of  December,  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city. 
The  weather  was  colder  than  it  had  been  known  for  over 
fifty  years.    The  Croton  had  not  yet  been  introduced,  little 


METROPOLITAN  FIRE  DEPARTMENT. 


185 


water  could  be  obtained,  and  that  little  froze  in  the  hose  be' 
fore  it  could  be  used.    The  buildings  were  mostly  of  wood , 


HEADQUARTERS  NEW  YORK  FIRE  DEPARTMENT. 

(127  Mercer  street. ) 


greatly  favoring  the  work  of  destruction.  For  three  days 
and  nights  the  flames  raged  furiously,  sweeping  away  648 
houses  and  stores  valued  at  $18,000,000,  and  leaving  45  acres 
of  the  business  portion  of  the  city  a  desert  of  smoking  ruins. 
To  crown  the  disaster,  the  insurance  companies  unanimously 
suspended.  On  the  19th  of  July,  1845,  another  great  con- 
flagration occurred,  second  only  to  the  one  just  described. 
It  began  in  New  street,  near  Wall,  sweeping  onward  in  a 
southerly  direction,  until  345  buildings  were  consumed,  in- 
flicting a  loss  of  at  least  five  millions. 

The  Fire  Department  of  New  York  has,  in  some  form,  ex- 
isted since  1653,  but  never  attained  to  any  eminence  in 


186 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS . 


point  of  discipline  or  quiet  efficiency,  until  within  the  last 
few  years.  For  many  years  it  was  composed  of  volunteer 
forces,  who  served  gratuitously ;  the  engines  were  worked  by 
hand ;  the  force,  though  large,  was  undisciplined,  frequent 
collisions  occurred  between  the  different  companies,  and  the 
noise,  riot,  and  plunder  at  the  fires  became  intolerable.  On 
the  30th  of  March,  1865,  the  Legislature  created  the  paid 
"  Metropolitan  Fire  Department,"  the  commissioners  of 
which,  after  some  litigation  and  much  opposition,  proceeded 
to  reorganize  and  suitably  discipline  the  force.  This  has 
gone  steadily  forward  until  New  York  can  at  length  boast  of 
as  intelligent,  disciplined,  and  vigilant  a  Fire  Department  as 
can  be  found  in  any  city  in  the  world. 

The  force,  at  this  writing,  consists  of  a  Chief  Engineer, 
an  Assistant  Engineer,  ten  District  Engineers,  and  five 
hundred  and  eighty-seven  officers  and  men.  Each  Company 
consists  of  a  Foreman  and  his  Assistant,  an  Engineer,  and 
nine  firemen.  Each  Company  is  provided  with  a  house,  with 
appropriate  rooms  for  rest,  drill,  and  study.  The  basement 
of  the  building  contains  the  furnace  which  keeps  the  water 
in  the  engine  hot ;  the  horses  are  harnessed,  and  everything 
ready  so  that  when  the  signal  of  a  fire  is  received,  ten  or 
fifteen  seconds  only  elapse  before  the  whole  company  is 
flying  to  the  scene.  These  twelve  men  accomplish  with  six 
times  the  dispatch,  and  with  no  noise,  insubordination,  or 
theft,  what  forty  but  poorly  accomplished  under  the  old 
regime.  "When  on  duty  they  have  the  right  of  way,  taking 
precedence  of  everything,  save  the  U.  S.  Mail,  and  their  smok- 
ing engines  go  dashing  through  crowded  streets  at  a  fear- 
ful pace,  but  as  everybody  takes  pains  to  clear  the  track, 
few  collisions  occur.  The  men  undergo  the  most  rigid 
examination,  both  physical  and  moral,  before  they  are  ad- 
mitted, and  are  only  discharged  on  account  of  failing  health 
or  bad  conduct.  No  nationality,  political  sentiment,  or 
religious  belief  is  taken  into  the  account;  but  good  moral 


METROPOLITAN  FIRE  DEPARTMENT. 


187 


conduct,  tidiness,  subordination,  and  fidelity  to  duty  are 
always  required,  and  compensated  with  timely  promotions. 

The  Department  has  thirty-seven  steam-engines,  second 
size,  costing  four  thousand  dollars  each,  and  manufactured 
by  the  Amoskeag  Manufacturing  Company  of  Manchester, 
Kew  Hampshire.  It  has  also  a  floating  engine  which  throws 
several  powerful  streams,  which  is  used  to  extinguish  fires  on 
the  piers,  or  in  vessels  anchored  in  the  bay. 

The  horses,  which  now  number  one  hundred  and  fifty-six, 
are  the  finest  and  best-trained  in  America.  They  are  large, 
well-formed,  fleshy,  and  perfectly  docile.  They  understand 
their  business  as  well  as  the  firemen.  The  sound  of  the  gong 
puts  them  on  needles  until  they  are  fastened  to  the  engine, 
which  they  whirl  through  storm,  mud,  or  snow-banks  with  a 
speed  which  is  often  surprising. 

Occasionally  an  unhappy  circumstance  occurs.  A  false 
step  in  the  haste  of  departure  precipitates  a  poor  fireman 
near  the  door  of  the  engine-house,  just  in  time  to  be  crushed 
by  the  pondrous  wheels  of  the  engine  in  its  rapid  exit,  and 
his  sorrow-stricken  comrades  toil  on  for  hours  against  the 
raging  element,  before  they  have  a  moment  to  return  and 
shed  a  friendly  tear  over  his  remains.  Sometimes  Isew 
Yorkers  sit  down  to  their  breakfast-tables,  and  glancing  at 
the  morning  paper,  read  of  an  immense  fire  that  has  occurred 
during  the  night,  where  several  devoted  firemen  were 
crushed  beneath  the  falling  walls,  or  went  hopelessly  down 
into  a  sea  of  flame  from  the  roof  or  floor  of  a  building,  while 
in  discharge  of  a  perilous  duty.  Sometimes  an  engine  bursts, 
spreading  terror  and  death  on  every  side.  The  means  of 
public  safety  are  attended  with  private  toils  and  woes  that 
would  fill  volumes. 

The  signals  are  now  mostly  given  by  telegraph,  and  few 
people  hear  of  a  fire  within  a  few  blocks  of  their  door,  until 
all  is  over.  The  police  have  charge  of  the  order  to  be  ob- 
served in  the  vicinity  of  a  fire  ;  they  frequently  draw  ropes  at 
a  proper  distance,  inside  of  which  none  are  allowed  but  the 

14 


1S8 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


firemen,  and  those  directly  interested.  Though  the  city  is 
constantly  enlarging,  the  loss  by  fires  is  steadily  diminishing. 
In  1866,  there  were  796  fires,  with  a  loss  of  $6,428,000.  In 

1867,  there  were  873  fires,  with  a  loss  of  $5,711,000.  In 

1868,  there  were  740  fires,  with  a  loss  of  $4,342,371 ;  and  in 

1869,  there  were  850  fires,  with  a  loss  of  but  $2,626,393.  But 
forty-three  of  the  850  fires  of  the  last  year  extended  to 
adjoining  buildings,  which  gives  some  idea  of  the  rapidity 
with  which  the  work  of  extinction  is  conducted.  The  head- 
quarters at  127  Mercer  street  contain  the  offices  of  the  Com- 
missioners, Chief  Engineer,  Secretary,  Medical  Officer,  Tele- 
graph, Bureau  of  Combustible  Materials,  and  Fireman's 
Lyceum.  The  last-named,  organized  quite  recently,  now 
contains  a  library  of  over  4,000  volumes,  besides  many 
curious  engravings,  and  relics  of  the  Department.  Beside 
the  thirty-seven  engine-houses,  and  fifteen  truck-houses,  the 
Department  has  a  repair  yard  in  Elizabeth  street,  where  most 
of  its  work  is  now  done,  a  number  of  hospital  stables  in 
Chrystie  street,  and  eleven  bell-towers.  All  fines  imposed  on 
firemen,  and  all  imposed  on  citizens  for  violating  the  hatch- 
way and  kerosene  ordinances,  go  to  the  "  Fire  Department 
Eelief  Fund,"  for  the  relief  of  the  widows  and  orphans  of 
firemen. 


THE  HEALTH  DEPARTMENT. 

Every  great  center  of  population  is  occasionally  overtaken 
with  pestilence,  and  with  various  local  and  travelling  diseases. 
Manhattan  has  not  been  the  exception.  In  1702,  the  yellow 
fever  was  brought  from  St.  Thomas,  of  which  over  six  hun- 
dred persons  died,  about  one-twelfth  of  the  entire  popula- 
tion. In  1732,  an  infectious  disease  appeared,  of  which 
seventy  persons  died  in  a  week.  In  1743,  a  bilious  plague 
prevailed,  of  which  two  hundred  and  seventeen  died.  In 


THE  HEALTH  DEPARTMENT. 


189 


1745,  malignant  fever  prevailed ;  and  in  1747,  the  bilious 
plague  reappeared.  Yellow  fever  returned  in  1791,  1794, 
1795,  1797,  1799,  1801,  1803,  1805,  1822,  1856,  and  1870. 

Over  thirty-five  hundred  died  of  cholera  in  1832,  nine 
hundred  and  seventy-one  in  1834,  five  thousand  and  seventy- 
one  in  1849,  three  hundred  and  seventy-four  in  1852,  and  a 
small  number  in  1866.  There  are  a  few  cases  of  cholera 
nearly  every  year.  A  great  city,  unless  carefully  guarded, 
60on  becomes  a  sink  of  putrefaction,  which  not  only  aggra- 
vates but  engenders  disease.  To  prevent  as  far  as  possible 
this  unnecessary  waste  of  human  life,  the  sanitary  interests 
of  the  metropolis  have  been  for  some  years  committed  to  the 
care  of  a  Board  of  Health  Commissioners,  vested  with  large 
power,  who  have  given  their  entire  attention  to  this  branch 
of  the  public  service. 

The  New  Health  Department,  under  the  present  charter,, 
consists  of  the  Police  Commissioners  of  New  York,  the 
Health  officer  of  the  Port,  and  of  four  Commissioners  of 
Health,  appointed  by  the  Mayor,  for  the  term  of  five  years, 
with  a  salary  of  $5,000  each,  two  of  whom  must  have  been 
practising  physicians  in  the  city,  for  a  period  of  five  years 
previous  to  their  appointment.  The  Department  is  divided 
into  four  bureaus.  The  chief  officer  of  one  is  called  the 
u  City  Sanitary  Inspector."  This  officer  must  be  selected 
from  the  medical  fraternity,  having  practised  ten  years  in 
the  city.  Complaints  against  fat  or  bone-boiling  establish- 
ments, or  other  questionable  buildings  or  practices,  are  made 
to  this  officer.  Another  is  styled  the  "  Bureau  of  Sanitary 
Permit."  This  Bureau  grants  licenses  for  burials,  without 
which  a  dead  body  cannot  be  brought  into  or  removed 
from  the  city.  Another  is  the  a  Bureau  of  Street  Cleaning." 
The  chief  officer  of  the  fourth  Bureau  is  called  the  "  Register 
of  Records."  This  is  the  bureau  of  vital  statistics.  He 
records  without  charge  all  marriages,  births,  deaths,  and  the 
inquisitions  of  the  coroners.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  clergy- 
man, or  magistrate,  solemnizing  matrimony,  to  report  the 


190 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


same  to  this  officer,  and  of  physicians  to  report  all  births  and 
deaths  occurring  in  their  practice.  The  present  Board  of 
Health  is  very  vigilant  and  useful,  guarding  with  scrupu- 
lous care  the  sanitary  interests  of  the  city,  warding  off  chol- 
era and  various  contagious  diseases,  and  rendering  the  me- 
tropolis so  salubrious  as  to  impoverish  many  physicians. 


QUARANTINE  DEPARTMENT. 

Every  large  city  is  compelled  to  provide  a  Quarantine, 
as  a  matter  of  self-preservation,  especially  seaport  towns.  The 
first  measures  for  a  Quarantine  in  New  York  were  inaugur- 
ated by  the  passage  of  an  act  in  1758,  to  prevent  the  spread  of 
infectious  diseases.  By  Act  of  May  4th,  1794,  Governor's 
Island  was  made  the  Quarantine,  and  in  March,  1797,  a  laza- 
retto was  directed  to  be  built  on  Bedloe's  Island.  The  ravages 
of  yellow  fever  led  in  1799  to  the  purchase  of  thirty  acres  of 
land  on  Staten  Island,  five  of  which  were  ceded  to  the  United 
States  Government  for  warehouses,  and  on  the  remainder  per- 
manent quarantine  buildings  were  erected.  The  first  build- 
ings were  erected  with  the  material  taken  from  the  demolished 
lazaretto  on  Bedloe's  Island.  In  1819,  a  long  brick  building 
was  erected  ;  in  1823,  a  fever  hospital ;  in  1828-29,  a  small- 
pox hospital ;  and  such  subsequent  additions  were  made  as 
the  wants  of  the  Institution  required.  The  great  increase  of 
population  on  Staten  Island,  and  the  return  of  yellow  fever 
in  1856-58,  many  cases  occurring  in  the  vicinity  of  the  quar- 
antine, the  long-cherished  desire  for  its  removal  burst  forth 
in  a  frenzy,  of  which  the  whole  populace  seemed  to  partake. 
On  the  evening  of  the  1st  of  September,  1858,  the  buildings 
were  entered  by  the  excited  multitudes,  the  sick  carried  on 
their  mattresses  into  the  yards,  and  every  building  save  the 
women's  hospital  destroyed  by  fire.    This  last-named  edifice 


QUARANTINE  DEPARTMENT. 


191 


was  destroyed  the  following  evening,  making  the  ruin  com- 
plete. 

Quarantine  is  now  located  on  the  east  of  Staten  Island, 
several  miles  below  Castle  Garden,  on  artificial  islands  con- 
structed for  that  purpose.  The  sick,  until  a  few  years  since, 
were  kept  in  vessels  stationed  in  the  lower  bay  for  that  pur- 
pose. During  1869,  the  West  Bank  Hospital  was  completed  at 
a  cost  of  over  three  hundred  thousand  dollars.  This  is  one  of 
the  largest  and  best-arranged  quarantine  buildings  in  the  world. 
The  foundation  consists  of  crib-work  of  heavy  timbers  fas- 
tened together,  filled  with  stone  and  sand,  and  sunk.  The  crib 
contains  15,000  cubic  yards  of  stone,  and  56,000  cubic  yards 
of  sand.  The  Hospital  is  a  one-story  edifice,  divided  into 
eight  wards,  each  89  feet  long  and  24:  wide,  and  can  accom- 
modate fifty  patients  each.  The  Hospital  is  supplemented  by 
other  buildings,  used  as  baggage  house,  wash-house,  dead- 
house,  and  apartments  for  superintendent,  physicians,  nurses 
etc.  The  buildings  are  lighted  with  gas,  and  connected 
by  telegraph  with  JSew  York.  During  1869,  213  vessels  ar- 
rived from  ports  infected  with  yellow  fever  ;  and  in  1870  no 
less  than  365  such  vessels,  with  at  least  470  yellow  fever  pati- 
ents on  board.  115  vessels  carrying  about  73,000  persons 
were  detained  at  Quarantine,  having  small-pox,  during  1872, 
and  four  vessels  with  ship  fever,  yet  so  vigilant  were  the  health 
officers  that  no  panic  occurred  on  shore,  and  none  of  these  dis- 
eases spread  in  the  city.  Yellow  fever,  however,  broke  out  in 
the  summer  and  fall  of  1870  among  the  troops  on  Governor's 
Island,  eighty-three  of  whom  were  prostrated  and  thirty-one 
died.  The  health  and  prosperity  of  the  Metropolis  are  more 
largely  dependent  upon  quarantine  vigilance  than  many  sup- 
pose. Another  building  for  the  detention  of  persons  exposed 
to  disease,  while  on  passage  in  an  infected  vessel,  has  been 
completed  at  West  Bank,  and  a  warehouse  for  the  storage 
of  infected  goods  will  follow,  making  our  Quarantine  com- 
plete and  unrivalled.  The  annual  expense  of  this  branch  of 
our  measures  for  public  security,  exclusive  of  permanent  im- 


192 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


provements,  amounts  to  about  §50,000.  The  Quarantine  Com- 
missioners have  exclusive  control  of  the  Hospital,  and  are 
distinct  from  the  Health  Department  of  the  city. 


MAKITIME  DEFENCES, 


ORTIFICATIOXS  erected  under  the 
trained  skill  of  cultivated  military  en- 
gineers have  long  been  the  chief  means 
of  defence  for  all  civilized  cities  and 
countries.  It  is  therefore  a  little  remark- 
able, that  while  Xew  York  was  from  the 
earliest  settlement  the  chief  city  and 
heart  of  the  country,  no  general  effort  to 
suitably  fortify  its'  approaches  was  made 
until  the  outburst  of  the  war  of  1812. 

Rude  fortifications  were  then  placed  upon  some  of  the  small 
islands,  in  the  upper  bay,  and  Fort  Lafayette  was  commenced 
on  Hendricks  Reef,  200  yards  from  the  shore,  in  what  is 
known  as  the  Xarrows,  the  water  doorway  to  the  Metropolis. 
This  fort,  when  completed,  had  cost  about  8350,000,  and 
mounted  seventy-three  heavy  guns.  Its  chief  fame  during  the 
half -century  has  arisen  from  the  fact  of  its  having  been 
made  the  house  of  detention  for  political  prisoners  during  the 
late  civil  war,  and  some  who  read  this  notice  will  require  no 
fuller  description  of  it.  The  elements  were  unfriendly  to 
this  fortress,  however,  and  on  the  first  of  December,  1S68,  it 
was  destroyed  by  fire,  leaving  only  the  naked  walls.  The 
government  is  about  to  rebuild  it  on  a  greatly  improved  scale. 

In  1824,  Fort  Hamilton  was  commenced,  immediately  op- 
posite the  former,  standing  on  an  eminence  on  the  Long  Island 
shore.  It  was  completed  in  1832,  at  an  expense  of  §550,000, 
and  mounted  sixty  heavy  guns.  It  has  recently  been  supple- 
mented with  a  strong  battery,  and  now  numbers  in  its  arma- 
ment some  of 


the  celebrated  Rodin  an  guns,  that 


discharge  a 


MARITIME  DEFENCES. 


193 


FORT  LAFAYETTE,  NEW  YORK  HARBOR. 


spherical  ball  weighing  a  thousand  pounds.  Several  of  the 
other  guns  throw  balls  weighing  four  hundred  and  fifty  pounds. 
Directly  opposite  these  works,  on  the  Staten  Island  shore, 
stand  Forts  Richmond  and  Tompkins,  both  new  and  improved 
works,  constructed  of  gray  stone,  mounting  many  guns  of 
huge  calibre.  Fort  Tompkins  is  a  water  battery  of  formida- 
ble appearance^  while  Fort  Richmond  occupies  the  bluff  in  its 
rear,  spreading  out  with  its  accompanying  batteries  at  great 
length,  and  is  so  arranged  as  to  shoot  over  Fort  Tompkins, 
and  sweep  the  channel  for  miles.  Batteries  Hudson,  Morton, 
North  Cliff,  and  South  Cliff  have  been  completed,  and  another 
is  now  being  constructed.  The  channel  at  this  point  is  but 
little  more  than  a  mile  wide,  and  these  fortifications  are  so  ar- 
ranged that  with  suitable  projectiles  and  management,  such  a 
shower  of  balls  and  shells  may  be  rained  as  to  prevent  the  en- 
trance of  a  fleet  of  iron-clads. 

The  upper  bay  is  favored  with  several  islands,  admirably 
arranged  for  fortifications.  Ellis  Island,  two  thousand  and 
fifty  yards  southwest  from  Castle  Garden,  is  occupied  by 
Fort  Gibson,  built  in  1S41-44,  mounting  fifteen  or  twenty 
guns,  and  requiring  a  garrison  of  one  hundred  men.  Bed- 


194 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


FORT  HAMILTON,  NEW  YORK  HARBOR. 

{Long  Island  side  of  Narrows.) 


loe's  Island,  situated  2,950  yards  southwest  of  Castle  Garden, 
is  occupied  by  Fort  Wood,  erected  in  1841,  at  a  cost  of 
$213,000,  on  the  site  of  a  fort  built  at  the  beginning  of  the 
century.  It  has  space  for  eighty  guns,  and  a  garrison  of 
three  hundred  and  fifty  men.  A  strong  battery  is  now  being 
added  to  this  fort. 

Governor's  Island  containing  seventy -two  acres,  and  situa- 
ted ten  hundred  and  sixty-six  yards  from  Castle  Garden,  is 
also  wholly  devoted  to  maritime  defence.  Its  largest  work 
is  Fort  Columbus,  a  star-shaped  fortification  with  five  points, 
standing  on  the  summit  of  the  island,  with  quarters  for  many 
troops.  Castle  William  is  a  three-story  round  tower,  situated 
on  the  west  shore  of  the  island,  six  hundred  feet  in  circum- 
ference, and  sixty  feet  high,  mounting  over  one  hundred  guns. 
South  Battery  fronts  on  Buttermilk  channel,  separating  the 
island  from  Brooklyn  (which  channel  was  once  forded  by 
cattle,  but  now  affords  anchorage  for  heavy  ships),  and  mounts 
fifteen  heavy  guns.    An  immense  barbette  battery  is  now  be- 


MARITIME  DEFENCES. 


195 


ing  constructed  on  this  island,  which  will  require  several  years 
for  its  completion.  Governor's  Island,  in  time  of  war,  re- 
quires a  garrison  of  a  thousand  men.  Acres  of  its  surface 
are  covered  with  heavy  cannon,  and  with  pyramids  of  balls 
and  shells,  thoroughly  painted  to  resist  the  action  of  the  ele- 
ments. Here  recruits  are  drilled  for  the  service,  and  deser- 
ters detained  as  prisoners.  There  are  also  very  extensive 
works  at  Sandy  Hook,  New  Jersey,  calculated  to  prevent  the 
occupation  of  the  lower  bay,  as  a  place  of  anchorage  to  an 
enemy's  fleet. 

Fort  Schuyler,  a  large  strong  fortification,  constructed  oi 
gray  stone,  mounting  over  three  hundred  guns,  and  requiring 
a  war  garrison  of  fifteen  hundred  troops,  stands  at  Throggs 
Neck,  several  miles  up  the  East  river,  and  is  designed  to  pre- 
vent the  approach  of  armed  vessels  to  New  York  by  way  of 
Long  Island  Sound.  This  fortification  is  being  extensively 
remodelled,  at  an  expense  of  several  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
Willet  Point  unites  with  Fort  Schuyler  in  guarding  this  eas- 
tern channel  of  approach,  which,  with  the  late  improvements 
at  Hurl  Gate,  requires  to  be  more  carefully  defended  than 
formerly.  Willet  Point  is  the  principal  engineer  depot  of 
the  Department  of  the  East.  Here  the  surplus  stores  which 
accumulated  during  the  war  were  largely  deposited.  Here 
bridge-trains,  and  equipage,  intrenching,  mining,  and  other 
tools,  are  preserved  for  use,  in  future  field  service.  The  de- 
pot is  guarded  and  cared  for,  and  the  property  issued  by  en- 
gineer troops.  This  place  is  also,  at  present,  the  Torpedo 
School  of  the  United  States  army,  and  extensive  experiments 
in  that  line  are  now  being  made.  Many  millions  have  been 
consumed  on  these  fortifications  and  their  armament,  which 
cover  all  the  strong  points  about  the  harbors,  and  vast  sums 
are  still  being  expended  ;  yet,  with  all  this,  it  is  doubtless  true 
that  New  York  is  not  defended  as  its  importance  demands. 
The  old  walls,  guns,  and  round  shot  of  the  fathers  are  of  lit- 
tle use  in  these  days  of  improved  projectiles  and  floating  bat- 
teries.   And  while  we  would  not  encourage  a  useless  expendi- 


196 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


ture  in  the  arts  of  war,  too  much  pains  can  scarcely  be  taken 
by  the  government  to  prevent  the  capture  of  the  Metropolis, 
in  the  event  of  a  sudden  conflict  with  a  maritime  power.  It 
should  also  be  remembered  that  while  the  nations  are  beating 
their  ploughshares  into  swords,  and  their  pruning  hooks  into 
cannon  and  shells,  to  thoroughly  prepare  for  war  is  the  sur- 
est promise  of  peace. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY  YARD. 


'IT*  I 

THE  BROOKLYN  NAVY  YARD. 

{Marine  Hospital  in  the  distance.) 


Having  looked  in  vain  for  the  appropriate  niche  where  a 
brief  account  of  the  United  States  Navy  Yard  might  be  in- 
troduced, we  insert  it  here.  In  1801,  the  government  pur- 
chased fifty-five  acres  of  ground  located  on  Wallabout  Bay, 
now  lying  between  the  Eastern  and  Western  Districts  of  the 
city  of  Brooklyn.  Subsequent  purchases  have  increased  the 
amount  to  about  two  hundred  acres,  which  cost  originally 


THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY  YARD.  197 


ENTRANCE  TO  NAVY  YARD,  BROOKLYN. 

$40,000,  and  is  now  valued  at  twenty  millions.  The  Navy  Yard 
proper  covers  about  fifty  acres,  is  laid  out  with  paved  streets 
and  walks,  which  are  kept  very  clean.  The  Dry  Dock,  begun  in 
1S41,  is  a  vast  structure,  capable  of  taking  in  a  ship  300  feet 
long,  and  cost  between  two  and  three  million  dollars.  It  is 
emptied  by  steam  pumps.  The  yard  contains  large  buildings 
to  cover  ships  of  war  while  in  process  of  building,  extensive 
lumber  warehouses,  great  numbers  of  cannon,  pyramids  of 
shot  and  shell,  shops,  foundries,  etc.,  etc.  A  Naval  Museum, 
filled  with  curiosities  sent  home  by  officers,  a  Marine  Hospital, 
with  barracks  for  troops,  cottages  for  officers,  and  other  neces- 
sary appendages,  are  spread  around  the  premises.  It  is  a 
place  of  curiosity,  and  is  visited  by  many  thousands  annually, 
but  as  it  occupies  nearly  the  heart  of  the  city,  the  enterprising 
property-owners  would  gladly  see  it  removed.  Congress  has 
begun  to  debate  the  matter  of  its  removal,  and  it  will  probably 
be  accomplished  before  many  more  years  elapse. 


XI. 


NEW  YORK  ALL  THE  YEAR  ROUND. 


TEW  YORK  is  situated  in  latitude  (of 
City  Hall)  40°  42'  43"  North,  longi- 
tude 74°  0'  3"  "West,  and  a  little  south 
of  the  centre  of  the  belt  described  as  the  north 
temperate  zone.  As  the  city  stands  in  the 
upper  bay,  eighteen  miles  from  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  the  extreme  rigor  of  the  ocean  blast  is 
lost  ere  it  reaches  the  city,  calmiug  gently  down 
into  a  bracing  and  healthful  breeze.  The  cli- 
mate is  quite  changeable,  often  characterized  by 
the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold,  yet,  all  things  con- 
sidered, is  perhaps  as  salubrious  as  that  in  any  other  part  of 
the  world.  New  York,  unlike  London  and  many  other  cities 
enveloped  half  the  year  in  an  impenetrable  fog,  is  blest  with 
a  clear  atmosphere,  so  that  despite  the  smoke  of  a  hundred 
thousand  chimneys,  its  inhabitants  can  nearly  every  day  in 
the  year  look  upon  a  sky  as  blue  and  fair  as  the  Italian. 


WINTER  IN  NEW  YORK 

New  York  lias  a  brief  but  emphatically  a  northern  winter, 
the  great  sheets  of  salt  water  lying  around  it  rendering  the 
atmosphere  very  chilly,  and  usually  making  the  impression, 
that  the  weather  is  colder  than  the  thermometer  indicates. 
The  winter  begins  properly  about  the  first  of  December,  and 
continues  about  three  months,  but  as  the  mercury  seldom  falls 


WINTER  IN  NEW  YORK. 


199 


below  zero  (Fahrenheit)  the  weather  may  be  considered  but 
moderately  cold.  About  once  in  ten  or  twenty  years,  how- 
ever, the  cold  becomes  intense.  The  winter  of  1740-41  was 
thus  marked.  The  rivers  were  frozen,  and  the  snow,  which 
was  six  feet  deep,  covered  the  earth  for  a  long  period.  Just 
twenty  years  later  (1760)  the  cold  was  so  intense  that  the 
Narrows  were  frozen  over,  and  men  and  teams  crossed  with- 
out danger.  But  the  coldest  ever  known  since  the  settlement 
of  the  country  occurred  in  1779-80.  The  Hudson  River  was 
one  solid  bridge  of  ice  for  forty  days,  and  Long  Island  Sound 
was  nearly  frozen  over  in  its  widest  part.  The  bay  was  so 
6olidly  frozen,  that  an  expedition  with  eighty  sleighs,  and  as 
many  pieces  of  artillery,  crossed  to  Staten  Island,  and  returned 
to  New  York  in  the  same  manner.  The  city  was  at  that  time 
held  by  the  British  garrison,  trade  almost  wholly  suspended, 
and  the  suffering  among  the  populace  became  intense.  The 
British  commander,  under  severe  penalty,  ordered  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Long  Island  and  of  Staten  Island  to  cut  their  timber 
and  draw  it  to  the  city  for  sale,  but  even  this  failed  to  bring 
the  needed  supply.  Many  families  sawed  up  their  tables  and 
chairs  to  cook  their  food,  and  covered  themselves  in  bed  day 
and  night  to  avoid  freezing  to  death.  A  shipbuilder  named 
Bell  cut  up  a  rope  cable  worth  six  hundred  dollars  for  back- 
logs, and  a  spar  equally  valuable  for  fuel.  Another  severe 
winter  was  experienced  in  1820,  and  again  in  1835,  and  the 
rivers  have  been  again  so  frozen  in  our  day  as  to  afford  safe 
crossing. 

Occasionally  there  is  a  fine  run  of  sleighing,  lasting  several 
weeks.  This  is  a  gay  and  brilliant  period  for  the  wealthy 
classes,  and  a  golden  harvest  for  the  livery  stables,  each  team 
and  sleigh  earning  the  proprietor  from  one  hundred  to  two 
hundred  dollars  per  day.  But  this  period  of  festivity  is  one  of 
deep  privation  and  suffering  among  the  poor.  A  heavy  fall 
of  snow  suspends  all  operations  on  public  works,  building, 
grading,  etc.  It  is  not  unusual  to  have  seventy  or  a  hundred 
thousand  men  out  of  employment  at  mid-winter,  half  of 


200 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


whom  have  no  money  to  pay  rent,  provide  the  necessaries  of 
life  for  their  families,  or  to  bury  their  own  dead.  It  is  at 
this  season,  often  characterized  by  immense  losses  and  suffer- 
ings, that  the  deepest  religious  impressions  are  made  upon 
the  masses  by  the  Churches.  An  old  divine  once  quaintly 
said  that  "  the  Lord  did  not  enter  New  York  until  after  the 
rivers  were  frozen  over."  This  is  not  true ;  yet  such  is  the 
rush  of  business  and  pleasure,  that  no  general  spiritual  har- 
vest is  gathered  until  after  the  holidays.  A  cold  winter, 
affording  fine  opportunities  for  sleigh-riding  and  skating,  is 
much  relished,  and  except  the  suffering  among  the  poor, 
resulting  from  insufficient  food,  clothing,  and  fuel,  is  by  far 
the  most  healthy  and  desirable. 


SPRING  IN  NEW  YORK. 

Spring  may  be  said  to  open  generally  about  the  first  of 
March,  and  is  considered  pleasant  to  all  except  those  afflicted 
with  pulmonary  complaints.  To  this  class  the  air  is  moist, 
harsh,  and  severe,  until  near  the  middle  of  May.  Parks, 
lawns,  and  gardens  are  clothed  with  the  finest  green  by  the 
first  of  April,  and  fragrant  flowers  bud  and  bloom  in  rich 
luxuriance. 

Spring  is  the  period  for  projecting  new  parks,  streets,  piers, 
public  buildings,  letting  contracts,  opening  business,  etc. 
Everything  hums  with  excitement  from  the  Battery  to  Har- 
lem bridge,  the  rivers  and  bay  are  white  with  sloops  and 
crafts  laden  with  brick,  lumber,  sand,  and  a  hundred  other 
articles  of  domestic  commerce,  and  everybody  plans  and 
hopes  for  a  business  harvest.  The  beauty  and  toil  of  this 
busy  period  are  marred  and  aggravated  by  the  advent  of 
"  May-day."  On  the  first  few  days  of  May  nearly  half  the 
families  exchange  houses,  filling  the  streets  day  and  night  witb 


SPRING  IN  NEW  YORK. 


201 


loads  of  furniture  and  clouds  of  dust.  The  sidewalks  are 
thronged  in  the  meantime  with  women,  boys,  and  girls,  car- 
rying mirrors,  pictures,  books,  vases,  babies,  birds,  dogs,  etc., 
etc.  Half  the  houses  need  repairing,  and  every  family  "  must 
be  served  first ;  "  hence,  masons,  plumbers,  painters,  and  gla- 
ziers are  in  great  demand,  many  of  them  toiling  night  and 
day.  After  a  few  weeks  the  houses  are  adjusted,  the  streets 
swept,  the  families  appear  in  church,  the  children  in  school, 
and  everything  assumes  a  more  cheerful  aspect. 

*  These  extensive  removals  necessitate  the  annual  compiling 
of  a  new  City  Directory,  which  is  gotten  out  with  great  dis- 

*  "  The  New  York  City  Directory  for  1871-72,  just  issued,  is  quite  as  inter- 
esting and  complete  as  any  of  its  predecessors.  It  contains  1,268  pages,  ex- 
clusive of  172  pages  of  advertisements,  and  sixty-two  pages  of  miscellaneous 
matter ;  the  present  volume  contains  200,953  names.  It  is  quite  amusing 
to  note  the  singularity  of  some  of  the  names  to  be  found  within  its  pages. 
For  instance,  there  are  a  number  of  Houses  and  only  one  Foundation ;  a 
number  of  the  Goodkind,  Corns  and  Coffins,  several  Plants,  some  Lively  and 
some  Nott,  Long,  Short,  and  Hot.  Of  the  different  colors,  there  are  547 
Whites,  91  Blacks,  938  Browns,  3  Blues,  and  253  Greens.  Then  there  are 
30  Whiteheads  and  2  Redheads ;  22  Bulls,  3  Cowards,  1  Happy,  1  Hen,  and 
1  Chick.  Of  the  Seasons,  there  are  32  Winters,  24  Springs,  and  5  Sum- 
mers ;  of  household  utensils,  5  Pitchers,  16  Bowles,  1  Broker,  2  Allwell,  and 
one  Sick ;  of  horse-fare,  4  Oats,  3  Straws,  and  33  Hays.  There  are,  also,  60 
Lords,  21  Dukes,  321  Kings,  10  Queens,  20  Princes,  14  Barons,  and  24  Earls. 
The  O's  occupy  seven  columns,  and  the  M's  85  columns.  The  ancient  name 
of  Smith  occurs  1806  times.  There  are  36  Barbers  to  1  Shaver,  5  Shoe- 
makers, 7  Tinkers,  and  1  Blower;  56  Pages  with  only  1  Blot;  1  Untied,  2 
Loose,  and  1  Blind ;  3  Lawyers  against  28  Judges,  and  2  Juries  with  no  Ver- 
dict. Then  again  there  are  40  Popes,  11  Priests,  and  81  Bishops,  12  Pea- 
cocks and  2  Heads ;  2  Books,  4  Bound ;  16  Coffees,  with  18  Beans  ;  26 
Shepherds  with  11  Flocks ;  1  Ship,  2  Masts,  and  64  Seamen.  Of  the  differ- 
ent nations,  there  are  5  Englands,  18  Irelands,  4  Wales,  2  Chinas,  2 
Germanys,  2  Frenchmen,  8  Germans,  2  Dutch,  1  Irish,  32  English,  99 
Welsh,  and  only  2  Americans,  and  7  Turks.  Of  the  different  fruits, 
there  are  3  Apples,  4  Peaches,  7  Plums.  Then  come  7  Moons,  1  Morning- 
star,  and  1  Gentleman.  The  name  of  George  Washington  occurs  9  times, 
that  of  Thomas  Jefferson  twice,  John  Quincy  Adams  four  times,  and  Sly, 
Smart,  and  Slick  once  each.  There  are  2  Clocks,  and  39  Hands ;  1  Lion,  3 
Bears,  and  96  Wolfs ;  followed  by  14  Divines,  and  9  Deacons.  The  shortest 
name  in  the  Directory  is  Py." 


202 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTION  S. 


patch.  The  note  on  preceding  page  appeared  in  the  New 
York  Tribune,  June  17,  1871,  and  will  explain  itself. 


SUMMER   IN   NEW  YORK. 

This  period,  the  loveliest  of  all  in  many  parts  of  the  world, 
is  here,  to  all  classes,  the  most  unpleasant  and  trying  of  the 
whole  year.  During  July  or  August,  nearly  every  year,  the 
heat  becomes  intense,  sickness  greatly  prevails,  and  death 
reaps  an  abundant  harvest.  Business,  with  few  exceptions, 
is  almost  wholly  prostrated,  many  large  houses  not  selling  for 
months  sufficient  to  pay  their  rents.  Merchants,  bankers, 
clerks,  ministers,  nearly  all  who  have  means,  fly  with  a  part 
or  all  of  their  families  to  the  country,  visiting  the  watering 
places,  the  White  Mountains,  the  Catskills,  their  farmer- 
relatives,  the  conventions,  and  camp-meetings,  and  not  a  few 
cross  the  Atlantic.  Schools  are  suspended,  churches  deserted, 
and  many  of  them  closed.  Beer-gardens,  soda  and  ice-cream- 
saloons,  ice-dealers,  and  a  few  others  reap  their  annual  har- 
vest. Physicians,  druggists,  and  undertakers  find  little 
time  for  relaxation,  and  the  few  clergymen  remaining  in  the 
city  have  incessant  calls  to  minister  to  the  sick,  and  to  bury 
the  dead. 

The  ferries,  excursion-boats,  and  railroad-trains  are  crowded 
with  eager  thousands,  anxious  to  snuff  the  breezes  of  the  coun- 
try or  bay,  if  it  be  but  for  a  day  or  an  hour.  The  parks, 
squares,  and  suburbs  are  thronged  on  Sabbath  with  countless 
thousands  unable  to  proceed  to  any  greater  distance  from  the 
scorching  city. 

This  period  is  particularly  fatal  to  infant  children.  Men 
and  women,  from  sultry  tenements,  may  be  seen  all  hours  of 
the  night,  walking  the  streets  with  pale,  gasping  infants  in 
their  arms,  most  of  whom  with  a  change  of  air  might 


SUMMER  IN  NEW  YORK. 


203 


recover,  but  who  soon  find  a  narrow  cell  in  the  neighboring 
cemeteries.  The  mortality  among  the  laboring  classes  is 
often  great  during  the  heated  term.  On  the  17th  of  July, 
1866,  the  mercury  stood  at  104°  in  the  shade,  and  135°  in 
the  sun.  One  hundred  and  sixty-nine  cases  of  coup  de  soleil, 
or  sunstroke,  were  reported  in  New  York  alone,  besides  a 
large  number  in  Brooklyn  and  Jersey  City,  a  large  per  cent- 
age  of  which  proved  fatal.  Over  twenty  head  of  fat  cattle 
in  the  market-yard  on  Forty-fourth  street  died  of  heat,  and 
scores  of  horses  fell  dead  in  the  streets.  Laborers  and  quiet 
citizens  were  alike  prostrated.  A  carpenter  at  work  in  the 
gallery  of  a  church  fell  to  the  audience-room,  and  was 
carried  home  by  his  fellow- workmen  to  die.  A  huckster 
was  overcome  in  his  wagon  on  the  same  block,  the  same  day. 
A  young  lady,  oppressed  with  heat,  started  with  some  friends 
for  New  England,  by  one  of  the  Sound  steamers,  but  expired 
soon  after  leaving  the  pier.  A  seamstress  in  the  upper  part 
of  the  city,  without  any  exercise  or  fatigue,  fell  from  the 
•  chair  in  which  she  was  sitting,  and  instantly  expired.  A 
wealthy  lady  on  the  east  side  of  the  city  entered  her  private 
coach  to  visit  a  sick  friend.  On  entering  her  friend's  house, 
she  felt  a  sense  of  faintness  stealing  over  her,  and  after 
making  some  hasty  inquiries,  remarked  that  she  did  not  feel 
well,  and  would  not  sit  down.  She  returned  to  her  carriage, 
and  ordered  the  coachman  to  drive  home  quickly.  He  did 
so,  but  on  opening  the  carriage  door  found  only  her  lifeless 
form. 

This  excessive  heat  never  continues  more  than  a  few  weeks, 
and  rarely  above  a  few  days.  The  perils  of  such  seasons  are 
frightful,  especially  to  dissipated  and  careless  people.  The 
burning  rays  pour  down  for  weeks  without  rain  or  dew,  upon 
leafless  streets,  until  the  pavements  glow  with  heat  like  a 
fiery  furnace,  in  which  humanity  is  sweltered  and  baked 
alive.  It  is  not  proper  at  such  times  for  strangers  to  enter 
the  city,  and  many  of  those  who  do,  after  remaining  a  short 
time  in  the  Morgue,  are  deposited  by  the  authorities  in  an 

15 


204 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


unknown  grave.  The  summer  of  1869  was  unusually  cool, 
and  that  of  1870  warmer  than  any  experienced  in  more  than 
twenty  years.  Fewer  sunstrokes,  however,  occurred  than  in 
1S66,  as  many  of  the  laborers  wore  cabbage-leaves  under 
their  hats,  a  simple  experiment  which  probably  saved  the 
lives  of  thousands. 


AUTUMN  IN  NEW  YORK. 

September  brings  the  return  tide  of  a  surging  population. 
The  great  heat  of  the  season  has  passed,  vacations  are  ended, 
and  nearly  every  resident  is  anxious  to  see  how  it  looks  in 
New  York.  Teachers  of  the  public  schools,  and  scholars 
who  have  been  luxuriating  amid  the  shades  and  glens  of  the 
green  mountains,  return  to  resume  their  labors  and  studies. 
Churches, refitted  and  refurnished,  are  opened  with  impressive 
and  attractive  services,  and  glad  pastors  and  people  exchange 
their  mutual  congratulations.  The  wholesale  dry-goods  trade 
has  already  opened,  crowding  many  of  the  down-town  streets 
with  such  piles  of  new  boxes  that  the  pedestrian  can  scarcely 
pass.  New  stores  are  opened  with  brilliant  windows,  new 
books  and  styles  announced,  and  handbills  profuse  as  the 
leaves  of  autumn  spread  in  every  direction.  The  markets 
abound  with  fruits  and  vegetables  of  eveiw  description,  and 
from  every  part  of  the  country,  rich  and  luscious ;  but,  how- 
ever plentiful,  through  the  perverseness  of  the  middlemen, 
they  are  always  costly  here.  Autumn  is  preeminently  the 
season  for  music,  promenade,  and  parade.  Music  is  much 
cultivated  in  New  York.  Singing  is  taught  in  the  public 
schools,  the  Sab  bath -schools  meet  twice,  devoting  most  of  one 
session  to  singing,  so  that  children  with  little  talent  in  that 
line,  by  this  long-continued  drilling,  nearly  all  learn  to  sing. 
In  autumn  one  is  attracted  by  music  at  the  park,  music  at 
the  school,  music  at  the  church,  concert,  theater,  in  the 


AUTUMN  IN  NEW  YORK. 


205 


drawing-room,  and  in  the  public  street.  Military  organiza- 
tions, target  companies,  and  the  members  of  various  societies, 
parade  the  streets,  or  ride  after  richly  caparisoned  horses, 
wearing  unique  uniforms,  filling  the  air  witli  strains  of 
music.  Organ-grinders,  from  every  nation,  and  of  every  age, 
multiply  at  every  corner,  to  the  disgust  of  merchants  and 
householders.  At  this  season  hundreds  of  persons  from  the 
surrounding  country  flock  to  the  city  in  quest  of  situations, 
but  failing  to  obtain  them,  depart  in  disappointment,  or  linger 
to  swell  the  ranks  of  vagrants  and  criminals.  Cold  weather 
seldom  arrives  earlier  than  December,  leaving  three  delight- 
ful months  for  business,  study,  and  pleasure.  The  climate 
during  the  whole  of  autumn  is  bracing,  cheerful,  and  bland 
beyond  all  description. 


XII. 


THE  LIBRARIES,   MONUMENTS,  AND   MARKETS  OF 
NEW  YORK. 


MERCANTILE  LIBRARY— (  LINTON  HALL. 

{Alitor  Place  and  Eiyhtli  (street. ) 


THE  LIBRARIES. 

The  libraries  of  Manhattan  far  excel  those  of  any  other 
city  on  the  continent.  The  first  public  library  was  established 
in  1729,  when  Rev.  John  Millington,  Eector  of  Newington, 
England,  bequeathed  1622  volumes  to  the  "  Society  for  the 
Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts."  Rev.  John 
Sharp,  chaplain  of  Lord  Bellamont,  having  some  years  previ- 
ously presented  a  collection  of  books,  they  were  now  arranged 


THE  LIBRARIES.  207 

and  offered  for  the  public  use  under  the  title  of  the  "  Corpo- 
ration Library."  But  the  librarian  soon  died,  and  the  library 
was  neglected.  In  1754,  a  few  enterprising  minds  organized 
the  "  Society  Library,"  and  by  grant  of  the  Common  Council, 
added  this  old  library  to  their  own  collection.  The  society 
was  chartered  by  George  III.  in  1772,  and  still  nourishes 
with  a  library  of  about  50,000  volumes. 

"  The  New  York  Historical  Society,"  which  has  done 
more  than  any  other  to  preserve  the  reminiscences  of  early 
New  York,  was  founded  in  1S04.  Its  rooms  contain,  besides 
the  library,  many  choice  and  rare  curiosities. 

"The  Mercantile  Library  Association"  has  held  its  fif- 
tieth anniversary,  and  is,  perhaps,  the  most  popular  institution 
of  its  kind  in  the  city.  It  owns  its  fine  edifice,  Clinton  Hall, 
on  Astor  Place,  has  a  property  valued  at  half  a  million,  and 
a  library  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  volumes, 
which  increases  at  about  ten  per  cent,  per  annum.  Its  read- 
ing-room contains  four  hundred  papers  and  magazines. 

The  "Astor  Library"  is  the  largest  in  New  York,  and 
contains  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  thousand  volumes, 
mostly  solid  works.  It  is  emphatically  the  great  library  of 
reference  for  scholars,  and  fills  an  important  place  in  the 
literary  facilities  of  the  metropolis.  The  cut  presents  a  view 
of  the  original  structure,  as  provided  for  by  the  bequest  of 
John  Jacob  Astor,  but  which  has  been  enlarged  by  his  son, 
William  B.  Astor.  The  present  building  and  library  form  a 
worthy  monument  of  two  worthy  men. 

Besides  these  we  may  mention  the  "  Apprentices'  Library," 
of  fifty  thousand  volumes,  the  u  Library  of  the  American  In- 
stitute," the  "  New  York  City  Library,"  the  "  Printers  Free 
Library,"  the  "  Women's  Library,"  the  "  Harlem  Library,"  the 
"Mott  Memorial  Medical  Library,"  the  "New  York  Law 
Institute  Library,"  and  the  immense  libraries  connected  with 
the  large  institutions  of  learning.  Honorable  Peter  Cooper 
has  also  daring  this  year,  on  the  occurrence  of  his  eightieth 
birthday,  surprised  the  community  with  the  gift  of  §150,000, 


208 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


to  found  a  complete  library  for  working  men.  To  these  will 
also  soon  be  added  the  "Lenox  Library,"  founded  by  the  dis- 
tinguished philanthropist  whose  name  it  bears,  who  has  just 
set  aside  land  and  $300,000  for  the  erection  of  appropriate 
buildings,  opposite  Central  Park,  to  which  he  adds  his  entire 
collection  of  statuary,  paintings,  and  books,  said  to  be  the  most 
valuable  in  the  country,  and  money  sufficient  to  make  it  com- 
plete and  unrivaled.  Besides  these,  there  are  numerous  read- 
ing-rooms judiciously  distributed  through  the  city,  furnished 
with  all  the  periodical  literature  of  the  day,  opened  by 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  and  other  benevolent 
societies. 


MONUMENTS. 

Some  portions  of  New  York  and  vicinity  are  thickly 
studded  with  monuments,  commemorating  the  names  and 
deeds  of  the  great,  the  patriotic,  or  the  admired.  Some 
reared  by  private  enterprise  over  the  remains  of  friends  have 
cost  large  fortunes,  and  money  which  might  have  blessed  the 
world  lias,  in  more  than  one  instance,  been  foolishly  thrown 
away.  Some  very  laudable  efforts  in  this  line  have,  however, 
been  undertaken.  Churches  have  reared  chaste  monuments 
in  memory  of  devoted  pastors,  students  to  eminent  men  of 
letters,  and  soldiers  to  attest  their  respect  for  fallen  comrades. 
The  soldiers'  monument,  which  lifts  its  modest  head  on  the 
western  elevation  of  Greenwood  cemetery,  and  the  one 
erected  by  the  Seventh  regiment  in  Central  Park,  are 
very  imposing  testimonials  of  patriotic  regard.  The  beauti- 
ful monument  of  Columbus,  the  peerless  navigator,  and  that 
of  the  learned  Humboldt,  and  one  of  Shakspeare,  all  recently 
placed  in  Central  Park,  are  worthy  of  mention. 

Old  Trinity  church-yard  contains  several,  the  most  impor- 
tant of  which  is — 


New  York  Historical  Society— Second  Avenue,  cor.  Eleventh  Street. 


New  York  Society  Library— 67  University  Place. 


Columbia  College— Fiftieth  Street,  between  4th  ana  5th  Avenues. 

I 


College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons— Cor.  23d  Street  and  4th  Avenne. 


MONUMENTS 


209 


The  Martyrs'  Monument,  erected  by  the  Trinity  corpora- 
tion in  1  852,  to  the  memory  of  those  patriots  who  died  in  the 
old  Sugar  House  and  in  other  prisons  during  the  Revolution. 


MARTYRS'  MONUMENT.  WORTH  MONUMENT. 


{Trinity  Church  Cemetery.)  (Jfculison  square  and  Fifth  avenue.) 

It  is  a  chaste  Gothic  structure  of  brown  stone,  standing  on  a 
granite  foundation,  about  forty-five  feet  high,  appropriately 
inscribed,  and  crowned  with  the  American  eagle. 

The  Worth  Monument,  erected  on  the  west  side  of  Madi- 
son square  by  the  corporation  of  the  city  of  Xew  York  in 
1857,  is  the  only  one  completed  at  the  public  expense.  The 
monument  is  a  four-sided  chaste  granite  obelisk ;  its  sides,  be- 
sides presenting  the  equestrian  image  in  high  relief,  are 
nearly  covered  with  inscriptions,  setting  forth  the  career  of 


210 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


the  hero  of  Cherubusco  and  Chapultepec.  Handsome  bronze 
reliefs  are  introduced  between  the  several  inscriptions. 

The  Washington  Monument  stands  at  the  south-east  por- 
tion of  Union  square,  and  is  a  colossal  bronze  equestrian 


WASHINGTON  MONUMENT. 
(Union  square  and  Fourteenth  street.) 

statue,  executed  with  great  artistic  skill  by  Browne,  and  was 
erected  through  the  laudable  efforts  of  Colonel  Lee.  The 
figure  is  fourteen  and  one-half  feet  high,  and  stands  upon  an 
immense  granite  pedestal  of  the  same  height,  making  the 
whole  twenty-nine  feet.  This  representation  of  the  Father 
of  his  country  has  been  universally  admired.  The  means  for 
its  erection  were  contributed  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  neigh- 
borhood. It  is  said  that  the  gentlemen  who  circulated  the 
subscription  called  one  day  on  a  property-owner,  noted  alike 


MONUMENTS. 


211 


for  his  wealth  and  avarice.  The  subject  being  presented,  the 
miser  stated  that  he  could  give  nothing,  and  remarked  that 
no  monument  was  necessary.  Laying  his  hand  upon  his 
breast  he  exclaimed,  with  emphasis,  "  /  keep  the  Father  of 
his  country  hereP  "  Well,"  responded  the  intrepid  collector, 
"  if  the  Father  of  his  country  is  there,  he  is  in  the  tightest 
place  he  ever  found." 

The  Lincoln  Monument,  erected  in  September,  1870,  by 
the  Union  League  Club,  stands  at  the  south-west  corner  of 
Union  square,  and  corresponds  in  position  with  the  Washing- 
ton monument  on  the  opposite  corner.  The  pedestal  consists 
of  three  Dix  Island  granite  stones,  which  weigh  in  all  over 
forty  tons,  and  is  twenty-four  feet  high.  The  statue,  which 
represents  the  deceased  statesman  in  citizen's  dress,  but  cov- 
ered with  a  Roman  toga,  is  of  bronze,  nearly  eleven  feet  high, 
and  weighs  three  thousand  pounds.  The  design  was  formed 
by  II.  K.  Brown,  Esq.,  and  is  a  faithful  representation  of  the 
martyred  President.  In  his  left  hand  he  holds  the  Proclama- 
.  tion  of  Emancipation,  and  a  galaxy  of  stars  on  the  pedestal 
represent  the  States  of  the  Union. 

The  Vanderbelt  Monument,  erected  in  1869,  and  crown- 
ing the  western  wall  of  the  immense  freight  depot  which 
covers  the  old  St.  John's  Park,  is  by  far  the  most  elaborate 
and  costly  undertaking  of  its  kind  on  Manhattan.  It  was 
conceived,  and  carried  forward  to  completion,  mainly  through 
the  untiring  exertions  of  Captain  Albert  De  Groot.  The 
whole  scene  in  bronze  is  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long,  and 
over  thirty  feet  high,  with  admirable  groupings  of  ancient 
and  modern  representations,  and  is  designed  to  allegorically 
exhibit  the  brilliant  and  successful  career  of  the  dashing 
Commodore.  The  central  and  chief  figure  is  the  Railroad 
King,  a  life-like  and  correct  statue,  twelve  feet  high,  weigh- 
ing over  four  tons.  On  the  left  of  this  central  figure  every- 
thing is  seafaring,  representing  his  early  beginnings  on  the 
New  York  Bay,  his  later  travels,  and  his  patriotic  munificence. 
In  the  distance  JNeptune  in  bold  relief  is  seen,  in  a  half -re- 


212 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


dining  posture,  looking  seaward,  while  a  schooner,  a  steamer, 
a  steamship,  and  miscellaneous  aquatic  groupings,  complete 
the  center  of  the  picture.  On  the  right  terra  <fir?na,  the 
theater  for  a  king  of  railroads,  spreads  away.  At  the  extreme 
right,  corresponding  to  Neptune,  stands  the  figure  of  Liberty, 
while  the  intermediate  space  exhibits  forests,  cultivated  fields, 
railroad  track  with  tools,  tunnels,  switchmen,  and  dashing 
trains.  The  whole  weighs  over  fifty  tons,  and  cost  half  a 
million  dollars,  which  was  contributed  by  New  York  bankers 
and  capitalists.  It  is  an  appropriate  recognition  of  the  per- 
severance and  thrift  of  a  modern  Knickerbocker,  who,  with- 
out patrimony  or  schools,  has  carved  out  his  own  diploma, 
and  compelled  the  world  to  sign  it. 


THE  MARKETS. 

The  marketing  on  Manhattan  seems  to  have  been,  for 
some  years,  a  system  of  general  huckstering.  For  the  better 
security  of  seasonable  supplies  the  authorities  ordered  in  1676, 
that  all  country  people  bringing  supplies  to  market  should  be 
exempt  from  arrests  for  debt,  and  that  the  Market-house,  a 
small  building  devoted  to  that  use,  and  the  green  before  the 
fort  (the  present  site  of  Bowling  Green),  should  be  used  for  the 
city  sales.  In  16S3  markets  were  appointed  to  be  held  three 
times  a  week,  to  be  opened  and  closed  by  ringing  a  bell.  In 
1692,  a  market-house  for  meat  was  ordered  at  the  foot  of 
Broad  street,  and  subsequently  nearly  every  slip  on  the  East 
river  side,  where  the  city  mainly  lay  at  that  time,  had  its  mar- 
ket-house. "  Bear  Market  "  (Washington),  so  called  from  the 
fact  that  bear  meat  was  first  sold  in  it,  was  the  first  on  the 
west  side.  The  present  structure  was  erected  in  1813,  and 
though  low,  gloomy,  and  in  a  decayed  condition,  has  for 
many  years  been  the  principal  wholesale  market  of  the  city 


THE  MARKETS. 


213 


The  market  proper  contains  five  hundred  and  three  stands 
(with  many  outside),  and  furnishes  employment  and  subsis- 
tence for  about  10,000  persons.  Its  annual  business  is  be- 
lieved to  exceed  §100,000,000.  The  market  buildings,  num- 
bering seventeen,  are  judiciously  distributed  through  the  city  ; 
most  of  them  are  still  owned  by  the  corporation,  and  bring 
an  annual  income  of  several  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
Several  fine  market  buildings  have  recently  been  erected  by 
private  parties.  The  Manhattan  Market  Company,  chartered 
several  years  since,  have  now  erected  the  largest  and  fin- 
est market  building  yet  undertaken  on  the  island.  It  stands 
on  the  block  between  Thirty-fourth  and  Thirty-fifth  streets, 
Eleventh  and  Twelfth  avenues.  The  main  structure,  which  is 
of  iron,  stone,  and  Philadelphia  brick,  is  800  feet  long  and 
200  feet  deep,  and  will  contain  800  stands.  The  interior  of 
the  structure  is  80  feet  high,  well  lighted,  and  if  Washington 
is  ever  removed,  this  appears  certain  to  become  the  principal 
wholesale  market  of  the  city. 


XIII 


THE   CEMETERIES  OF  NEW  YORK. 

HE  bustling  glittering  cities  of  the  living 
stand  in  such  close  proximity  to  the  silent 
but  more  populous  ones  of  the  dead,  that 
this  sketch  of  Manhattan  would  be  quite 
imperfect,  were  no  mention  made  of  the 
places  where  rest  the  eight  generations 
that  have  successively  peopled  the  gay  metropolis. 

The  Burial-places  of  Manhattan  were  for  many  years  con- 
nected with  the  separate  churches,  and  as  late  as  1822  there 
were  twenty-two  of  these  church  burying-grounds  south  of 
the  City  Hall.  In  1794  the  Potter's  Field  was  located  at  the 
junction  of  the  Greenwich  and  Albany  roads.  This  was  at  a 
later  period  removed  to  what  is  now  Washington  square, 
from  whence  it  was  removed  to  Randall's,  then  to  Ward's,  and 
finally  to  Hart's  Island.  The  negro  burying-ground  was 
long  at  the  corner  of  Broadway  and  Chambers  street,  on  the 
site  now  occupied  by  A.  T.  Stewart's  wholesale  store.  In 
1729,  a  Jewish  cemetery  was  laid  out  near  what  is  now  Chat- 
ham square.  The  land  was  given  by  a  Mr.  Willey  of 
London  to  his  three  sons,  then  New  York  merchants,  to  be 
held  in  trust  as  a  place  of  burial  for  the  Jewish  nation 
"forever"  But  so  uncertain  are  the  securities  of  earth,  that  the 
place  has  now  long  been  covered  with  stores  and  warehouses. 
In  1813,  all  burials  below  Canal  street  were  prohibited.  The 
plan  of  erecting  marble  cemeteries  farther  up  town  was  now 
proposed,  and  two  were  constructed  between  Second  and 
Third  streets,  Bowery,  and  Second  avenue,  with  231  and  156 
vaults  respectively.  They  were  constructed  entirely  of  stone, 
and  calculated  to  receive  a  large  number  of  bodies.    It  was 


THE  CEMETERIES  OF  NEW  YORK. 


215 


however,  soon  discovered  that  this  plan  must  be  a  failure.  In 
1842,  the  plan  of  rural  cemeteries  was  fully  inaugurated  by 
the  laying  out  of  Greenwood,  which  had  been  incorporated 
in  1838.  In  1847,  a  general  law  was  enacted  by  the  Legisla- 
ture, conferring  upon  voluntary  associations  the  right  of 
establishing  rural  cemeteries,  which  was  soon  followed  by 
the  laying  out  of  Cypress  Hill,  Ever  Green,  New  York  Bay, 
Calvary,  and  others.  In  1842,  the  Trinity  corporation  pur- 
chased thirty-six  acres  of  ground,  on  Tenth  avenue  and  One 
Hundred  and  Fifty-fifth  street,  of  Mr.  Carman,  for  a  ceme- 
tery, which  is  the  only  one  now  in  use  on  the  island.  This 
cemetery  has  recently  been  much  injured  by  the  laying  out 
of  the  Public  Drive,  which  passes  through  it,  ruining  many 
of  its  vaults,  and  convincing  us  that  the  land  should  never 
have  been  devoted  to  a  cemetery.  The  grounds  are  richly 
shaded  and  kept  in  good  cultivation.  Here  sleep  the  remains 
of  Bishops  Wainright  and  Onderdunk,  of  Philip  Livingston, 
one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration,  of  Madame  Jumel, 
Aaron  Burr's  last  wife,  of  Audubon,  the  renowned  naturalist, 
of  John  Jacob  Astor,  and  many  other  distinguished  per- 
sonages. The  vault  of  President  Monroe  is  seen,  though  his 
remains  were  several  years  since  removed  to  Virginia. 

John  J.  Cisco,  of  Wall  street,  and  other  living  capitalists, 
conscious  of  coming  doom,  have  here  erected  granite  or  mar- 
ble structures  for  their  last  earthly  homes.  Land  has  now  be- 
come very  valuable  in  this  locality.  The  grounds  were  origi- 
nally obtained  for  $14,000,  but  the  corporation  has  refused 
$80,000  for  the  water  front  simply. 

In  1851,  an  ordinance  was  passed  prohibiting  all  burials  on 
the  island  south  of  Eighty-sixth  street,  except  in  private, 
vaults  and  cemeteries. 

New  York  Bay  cemetery  is  situated,  as  its  name  implies, 
on  the  New  York  Bay,  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  two  and 
one-half  miles  from  the  Jersey  City  ferry.  The  cemetery 
now  comprises  about  fifty  acres  of  level  land,  is  nearer  the 


216 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


City  Hall  than  any  other,  and  contains  the  mouldering  forms 
of  over  55,000  persons. 

Greenwood,  the  oldest  and  most  noted  of  all  our  rural 
cemeteries  contains  four  hundred  and  thirteen  acres  of  land, 
purchased  of  over  sixty  different  owners.  The  grounds  are 
situated  in  Brooklyn  on  Gowanus  heights,  about  two  and  a 
half  miles  from  South  ferry,  the  higher  portions  of  which 
were  crimsoned  with  the  blood  of  the  slain  at  the  noted  bat- 
tle of  Long  Island,  fought  August,  1776. 

The  surface,  graded  at  immense  expense,  is  beautifully  un- 
dulating and  diversified,  producing  constant  and  gratifying 
changes  of  scenery.  Seventeen  miles  of  broad  carriage-roads 
constructed  of  stone,  and  covered  with  gravel,  bordered  with 
paved  gutters,  and  fifteen  miles  of  foot-paths,  nearly  all  oi 
which  are  covered  with  Scrimshaw  concrete  pavement,  free 
from  duet,  mud,  and  weeds,  conduct  the  visitor  to  every  part 
of  the  grounds.  The  entrance-ways  are  all  elegant,  the 
northern,  completed  in  1863,  being  the  most  imposing.  Its 
outer  gate,  closed  only  at  night,  opens  on  Fifth  avenue,  and 
is  the  principal  way  of  access  to  the  vast  population  of  New 
York  and  Brooklyn.  The  gateway,  reached  by  an  approach, 
graded  at  great  expense,  is  an  elaborate  Gothic  edifice,  mas- 
sively constructed  of  the  best  New  Jersey  sandstone,  is  132 
feet  long,  40  feet  deep,  terminating  above  in  three  pinnacles, 
the  central  of  which  is  106  feet  high.  The  deep  triangular 
recesses  of  the  pediments  above  the  gateways  are  filled  on 
both  sides  with  groups  of  sculpture  formed  of  Nova  Scotia 
sandstone,  representing  the  Saviour's  entombment  and  re- 
surrection, the  resurrection  of  the  Widow's  Son,  and  the 
raising  of  Lazarus.  Still  higher  are  figures  in  relief  represent- 
ing Faith,  Hope,  Memory,  and  Love.  A  bell  tolls  with  eacli 
passing  procession,  and  a  clock  marks  the  speed  with  which 
we  are  gliding  to  eternity.  The  grounds  are  being  enclosed 
with  an  iron  fence,  and  otherwise  constantly  improved. 
About  six  thousand  are  annually  interred  here,  and  at  the 
close  of  1870  the  whole  number  of  interments  amounted  to 


THE  CEMETERIES  OF  NEW  YORK. 


217 


161,376.  It  is  the  most  favorite  resort  outside  of  New  York, 
its  finely  wrought  vaults  and  over  2,000  monuments,  some  of 
which  have  cost  large  fortunes,  attracting  much  attention. 
The  monument  of  Charlotte  Cauda  is  perhaps  the  most  noted 
of  all,  though  those  of  D.  H.  Lewis,  De  Witt  Clinton,  Colonel 
Vosburgh,  and  others,  are  very  imposing.  Here  clergymen, 
merchants,  bankers,  and  common  laborers  find  a  space  and  think 
not  of  the  amount  of  marble  that  marks  their  resting-place. 
Mr.  Peter  Cooper,  Rev.  H.  W.  Beecher,  and  many  others, 
have  selected  the  place  for  their  final  repose  beneath  the 
shades  of  the  sighing  willows.  The  receipts  last  year  amount- 
ed to  over  $319,000,  and  the  expenditures  to  $314,000.  The 
permanent  fund  for  the  improvement  of  the  cemetery,  aris- 
ing from  the  sale  of  lots,  legacies,  donations,  etc.,  amounts  to 
over  three-quarters  of  a  million,  and  is  certain  to  be  consid- 
erably increased. 

Cypress  Hill  cemetery  is  situated  on  that  elevated  ridge 
north  of  the  Brooklyn  and  Jamaica  turnpike,  known  as  the 
P  backbone  of  Long  Island."  It  lies  partly  in  Kings  and 
partly  in  Queens  counties,  is  about  five  miles  from  the  ferry 
at  Peck  Slip,  and  comprises  400  acres.  About  half  of  the 
grounds  are  still  covered  by  a  natural  forest,  and  the  other 
portions  profusely  set  with  trees  and  shrubbery,  thus  blend- 
ing witht  he  wild  luxuriance  of  nature  the  chaste  embellish- 
ments of  art.  A  brick  arch,  surmounted  by  a  statue  of  Faith, 
and  supported  by  two  beautiful  Lodges,  forms  the  front,  or 
southern  entrance.  The  view  from  the  elevated  portions  of 
this  cemetery  is  very  extensive,  presenting,  besides  nearly 
every  variety  of  landscape  scenery,  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the 
surrounding  country,  and  the  neighboring  cities.  Brooklyn, 
New  York,  Jersey  City,  the  majestic  Hudson,  and  the  Pali- 
sades are  spread  out  with  panoramic  grandeur;  farther  to 
the  north  rise  the  hills  of  Connecticut,  and  to  the  south,  far 
as  the  eye  can  extend,  stretches  the  broad  Atlantic,  bounded 
by  the  horizon.  Over  100,000  interments  have  been  made  in 
these  grounds  since  1848.    The  forms  of  4,060  of  our  brave 


218 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


soldiers  lie  sleeping  here,  in  a  section  set  apart  exclusively 
for  them.  About  35,000  bodies  have  also  been  transferred 
to  these  grounds,  from  old  burying-grounds  in  New  York 
city  and  Brooklyn.  The  Sons  of  Temperance,  the  Odd  Fel- 
lows, the  Masons,  and  the  Metropolitan  Police  have  set 
apart  sections  for  the  members  of  their  fraternities.  Family 
lots  measuring  16  by  25  feet  may  be  secured  here  on  the 
payment  of  from  §125  to  $250,  according  to  location. 

The  Cemetery  of  the  Evergreens,  situated  east  and  about 
three  and  a  half  miles  from  Williamsburgh,  covers  the  wes- 
tern termination  of  the  mid-island  range  of  hills,  and  affords 
numerous  varieties  of  surface  and  natural  ornament.  The 
eye  of  the  visitor  is  greeted  with  hills,  dells,  lakes,  lawns,  in- 
terspersed with  a  rich  growth  of  cultivated  and  forest  trees. 
This  cemetery,  which  is  also  one  of  the  largest,  has  not  yet 
become  as  noted  as  the  two  preceding,  but  is  sure  to  increase 
in  popularity. 

Calvary  Cemetery,  laid  out  in  August,  1848,  and  situated 
in  Newtown,  Long  Island,  is  owned  by  and  devoted  exclu- 
sively to  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  The  grounds  comprise 
seventy-five  acres,  and  already  over  200,000  interments  have 
been  made. 

Wood  Lawn  cemetery,  situated  in  Westchester  County,  eight 
miles  north  of  Harlem  Bridge,  was  incorporated  December  29, 
1863,  and  contains  over  300  acres.  The  late  Rev.  Absalom 
Peters  was  the  chief  agent  in  the  laying  out  of  these  beauti- 
ful grounds.  The  rapid  march  of  the  city  northward  led 
him  to  seek  the  establishment  of  a  large  cemetery,  which 
should  be  to  upper  New  York  and  Westchester  what  Green- 
wood had  long  been  to  lower  New  York  and  Brooklyn. 
This  cemetery  is  easily  reached  by  the  Harlem  Railroad. 
It  was  laid  out  in  1865,  since  which  over  12,000  interments 
have  been  made.  The  grounds  are  now  being  rapidly  im- 
proved, and  the  last  report  showed  an  increase  of  65  per 
cent,  over  the  interments  of  the  previous  year.  Several  other 
cemeteries  are  also  in  use.    To  these  silent  monumental  cities 


The  Fountain— Greenwood  Cemetery. 


THE  CEMETERIES  OF  NEW  YORK. 


219* 


of  the  dead,  about  25,000  are  being  annually  consigned, 
whose  places  in  the  gay  and  busy  world  are  filled  by  others, 
who,  after  a  brief  and  uncertain  struggle,  yield  in  turn  to  the 
great  destroyer.  An  occasional  visit  to  these  spots  of  solemn 
grandeur,  linked  so  closely  to  our  very  being,  must  be  at- 
tended with  tbe  best  results,  to  a  reflective  mind.  One  can- 
not linger  amid  such  scenes,  and  consider  that  beneath  this 
surface  of  exquisite  adornment  moulder  the  remains  of  the 
brilliant,  the  wealthy,  the  good,  and  the  gay,  without  having 
his  ambitions  for  worldly  advantage  greatly  sobered,  and  his 
whole  mind  improved. 

11  Here  are  the  wise,  the  gen'rous  and  the  brave  ; 
The  just,  the  good,  the  worthless,  the  profane  ; 
The  downright  clown,  and  perfectly  well-bred  ; 
The  fool,  the  churl,  the  scoundrel,  and  the  mean ; 
The  supple  statesman,  and  the  patriot  stern ; 
The  wreck  of  nations,  and  the  spoils  of  time." 

*  The  lapse  of  60  pages  after  219  is  accounted  for  by  the  omission  to 
number  the  illustrations  in  their  order. 


CHAPTER  Y. 


INSTITUTIONS  OF  NEW  YORK  ISLAND  AND  WEST- 
CHESTER COUNTY. 


NEW  YORK  INSTITUTION  FOR  THE   INSTRUCTION   OF  THE 
DEAF  AND  DUMB. 

( Washington  Heiglits,  One  Hundred  and  Sixty -second  street.) 

HAT  deaf-mutes  have  existed  in  the  world  since  the 
early  ages,  is  a  fact  clearly  established  by  both  sacred 
and  profane  history.  Speechlessness  appears  for  the 
most  part  to  have  been  the  result  of  deafness  ;  articu- 
lation resulting  from  imitation,  a  matter  to  which  the  mind 
of  the  deaf  is  not  naturally  directed.  For  many  ages  it  was 
confidently  believed  that  these  persons  were  inexorably  shut 
off  from  all  social  intercourse  with  their  race,  and  the  idea 
of  restoring  these  faculties  or  of  repairing  their  loss  by  educa- 
tion seems  never  to  have  occurred  to  the  ancients.  The  civil 
authorities  in  many  instances  appear  to  have  openly  approved 
of,  or  connived  at,  the  practice  of  destroying  such  children  as 
did  not  bid  fair  to  be  of  service  to  the  State.  If  allowed  to 
live,  they  were  deprived  by  statute  of  their  inheritance,  of  all 
right  to  buy  or  sell,  make  a  donation  or  will,  and  were  classed 
with  the  insane  and  the  idiotic.  The  ameliorating  influences 
of  Christianity  finally  intercepted  the  blow,  and  they  were  no 
longer  murdered  as  useless  incumbrances  of  society;  yet 
pitiable  indeed  was  their  condition  through  all  the  medieval 
ages,  locked  up  to  their  own  untutored  musings,  and  enduring 
the  most  cruel  neglect.  In  the  seventh  century  John,  Bishop 
of  Hagulstad,  is  said  to  have  with  much  pains  taught  a  deaf- 
mute  to  speak  a  few  sentences,  and  in  the  sixteenth  and  seven- 
teenth centuries  numerous  private  efforts  were  made  with 
some  success.  A  Spanish  monk,  Pedro  Ponce,  who  died  in 
15S4,  was  the  first  teacher  of  deaf-mutes.  Another  Spanish 
monk,  named  Juan  Pablo  Bonet,  published  about  1620  the 
first  treatise  on  deaf-mute  instruction,  and  is  believed  to  have 
invented  the  dactylology,  or  one-hand  alphabet,  used  so  gene- 
rally in  France  and  America.    The  numerous  treatises  on  the 


282 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


education  of  deaf-mutes  issued  in  various  parts  of  Europe 
during  this  century  show  a  general  awakening  on  the  subject 
amoug  the  learned.  Dr.  John  Wallis,  mathematical  professoi 
at  Oxford,  deserves  the  credit  of  being  the  first  practical  in- 
structor of  the  deaf  and  dumb  in  England.  He  never  had  a 
large  number  of  pupils,  but  continued  it  for  nearly  fifty  years 
with  tolerable  success.  The  first  school  of  this  kind  supported 
by  government  was  established  in  Leipsic,  in  1778,  under  the 
patronage  of  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  which  continues  to  this 
time.  Early  in  the  present  century  John  Braidwood,  a  mem- 
ber of  a  family  who  for  sixty  years  had  carried  on  a  system 
of  instruction  for  the  deaf  and  dumb  in  England  without  dis- 
closing its  principles  to  the  public,  came  to  this  country  and 
attempted  the  establishment  of  a  school.  He  was  warmly 
supported  by  several  gentlemen  of  wealth,  but  the  enterprise 
soon  failed  through  his  habitual  dissipation. 

The  year  1816  is  memorable  for  the  organization  of  a  so- 
ciety in  New  York  for  the  instruction  of  the  deaf  and  dumb. 
Samuel  L.  Mitchell,  LL.D.,  the  Rev.  John  Stanford,  and  Dr. 
Samuel  Akerly,  who  at  a  later  period  rendered  such  efficient 
service  in  founding  the  Institution  for  the  Blind,  were  its 
chief  promoters.  The  wisdom  of  the  undertaking  was  by 
many  questioned,  because  a  similar  institution  was  just  then 
being  opened  at  Hartford,  one  being  supposed  amply  suffi- 
cient for  the  whole  country.  An  inquiry,  however,  60on  dis- 
closed the  fact  that  over  sixty  deaf  mutes  were  then  living 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  subsequent  investigations 
have  proved  that  while  one  in  twenty-three  hundred  of  the 
general  population  is  blind,  one  in  about  two  thousand  is 
deaf  and  dumb.  The  act  of  incorporation  bears  date  of 
April  15,  1817,  and  in  the  following  May  the  school  was 
formally  opened  in  one  of  the  rooms  of  the  City  Hall,  with 
four  scholars.  During  the  first  eleven  years  of  its  operations 
the  society  had  no  building  of  its  own,  but  in  1829  the  school 
was  removed  to  East  Fiftieth  street,  to  the  grounds  now  occu- 
pied by  Columbia  college.  The  success  of  the  system  of  in- 
struction led  to  an  annual  increase  of  students,  and  made 
necessary  the  enlargement  of  the  building,  which  was  three 
times  accomplished  during  the  quarter  of  a  century  spent  at 
this  location.  The  prudent  sagacity  of  the  board  of  manage- 
ment secured  the  title  of  two  entire  blocks  of  ground,  lying 
between  Forty-eighth  and  Fiftieth  streets,  Fourth  and  Fifth 
avenues.     This  valuable  property,  purchased  at  different 


NEW  YOEK  INSTITUTION  FOR  THE  DEAF  AND  DUMB.  283 

periods  for  about  $54,000,  was  afterwards  disposed  of  at  about 
$325/  K)0.  The  rush  of  the  rapidly  expanding  city  now  began 
to  disturb  the  operations  of  the  Institution,  and  the  managers 
began  ti^  cast  about  in  quest  of  more  eligible  quarters.  J'an- 
wood,  at  Washington  Heights,  nine  miles  north  of  the  City 
Hall,  wa3  finally  selected,  and  thirty-seven  and  one-half  acres 
of  ground  purchased  in  1853,  at  a  cost  of  $115,000.  The 
buildings,  which  are  the  largest  and  finest  in  the  world  for  the 
instruction  of  the  deaf  and  dumb,  cover  about  two  acres,  are 
of  brick,  with  basement,  copings,  and  trimmings  of  granite,  and 
have  cost  several  hundred  thousand  dollars.  A  mortgage 
of  $175,000  has  just  been  removed  by  the  sale  of  nine  and 
one-half  acres  of  the  land  for  $263,000,  leaving  a  balance  to 
complete  other  needed  improvements.  The  front  walls, 
which  are  panneled,  are  faced  with  yellow  Milwaukie  brick, 
to  save  the  expense  of  painting.  The  main  edifice,  which 
contains  the  apartments  for  the  officers  and  teachers,  the  re- 
ception-rooms, offices,  the  library,  and  mineralogical  cabinet, 
etc.,  is  flanked  by  two  vast  and  well-arranged  wings,  one  of 
which  is  devoted  to  the  male,  and  the  other  to  the  female 
pupils.  A  central  building,  separated  in  construction  from 
the  others,  but  united  to  them  with  covered  passageways, 
contains  in  the  basement  kitchen  and  appendages,  on  the 
first  floor  the  dining-room,  and  on  the  next  the  chapel. 
The  aexes  are  carefully  separated,  and  meet  only  for  meals, 
instruction,  and  divine  worship,  under  the  oversight  of  their 
instructors.  The  buildings  are  capable  of  accommodating  over 
five  hundred  pupils,  and  are  about  equal  to  the  demands  of 
the  deaf  and  dumb  of  this  State,  which  are  believed  to  amount 
to  about  two  thousand  one  hundred  of  all  ages.  They  occupy 
one  of  the  most  commanding  locations  on  the  entire  island, 
overlooking  the  beautiful  Hudson,  and  have  been  universally 
admired  for  their  beauty  and  exquisite  arrangement. 

This  Institution  was  at  first  designed  for  a  private  charity, 
but  the  good  sense  of  the  public  soon  awoke  to  the  fact  that 
the  State  owed  the  means  of  instruction  to  all  its  children, 
whether  blind,  deaf  and  dumb,  or  possessed  of  all  the  five 
senses.  As  these  unfortunates  are  widely  scattered,  and  to 
enjoy  the  advantages  of  an  institution  are  compelled  to  reside 
far  from  home  in  an  expensive  city,  it  becomes  the  duty  of 
the  State  to  provide  for  their  maintenance  during  the  period  of 
their  instruction.  From  these  considerations  it  was  early  taken 
under  State  patronage,  which  has  since  formed  its  principal 


284 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


support.  The  annual  cost  of  the  Institution  amounts  to  about 
§300  per  inmate,  exclusive  of  permanent  improvements. 
Application  for  admission  as  a  State  pupil  must  be  made  to 
the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  at  Albany,  accom- 
panied by  a  certificate  from  the  Overseer  of  the  Poor  in  the 
town  where  the  applicant  resides,  certifying  that  his  parents 
or  guardian  are  unable  to  pay  for  his  board  and  tuition. 
State  pupils  must  be  between  the  ages  of  twelve  and  twenty- 
five.  Pupils  are  admitted  at  the  charge  of  counties  between 
the  ages  of  six  and  twelve.  Pay  pupils  are  also  received 
from  families  of  means.  The  regular  course  of  instruction 
lasts  eight  years,  with  three  years  additional  for  those  selected 
for  good  conduct  and  capacity  for  higher  studies.  An  un- 
taught deaf-mute  is  the  most  ignorant  creature  in  the  human 
family.  To  him  all  the  past  is  a  blank,  all  the  present  an 
inexplicable  mystery,  and  all  the  future  a  profound  uncer- 
tainty. He  has  no  proper  conceptions  of  the  Supreme  Being, 
which  affords  one  of  the  clearest  evidences  of  the  necessity 
of  a  Divine  revelation.  There  have  been  three  principal 
systems  employed  in  their  instruction:  1.  Articulation,  or 
the  theory  that  articulation  is  indispensable  to  the  clear  com- 
prehension of  thought.  This  system  is  believed  to  have  been 
founded  by  Pedro  Ponce,  long  practised  by  Wallis,  Pereira, 
and  the  Braidwoods,  has  been  for  a  century  the  common 
system  taught  in  Germany,  but  has  not  been  much  practised 
in  this  country  until  quite  recently.  2.  Gesticulation,  or  the 
theory  that  every  idea  of  which  the  mind  is  capable  may  be 
expressed  by  signs.  This  was  taught  by  Sicard,  Bebian,  and 
others.  3.  The  American  system,  which  combines  the  best 
fundamental  principles  of  the  two  preceding,  with  practical 
additions.  The  language  of  gestures  is  clearly  the  only  uni- 
versal channel  of  intelligent  communication  in  the  world,  and 
savages  from  all  countries  have  in  this  way  been  able  to  hold 
some  conversation.  This  can  be  learned  by  deaf  -mutes  spon- 
taneously, and  in  all  s}Tstems  is  more  or  less  employed.  At 
the  New  York  Institution  the  beginner,  when  introduced 
into  the  class-room,  finds  placed  before  him  cards  containing 
the  printed  names  of  objects.  Either  the  object  or  its  picture 
is  placed  by  the  side  of  the  card.  The  teacher  points  first  to 
the  name  and  next  to  the  object,  and  thus  the  connection 
between  names  and  things  soon  becomes  familiar.  They  are 
then  taught  to  spell  with  their  fingers  by  the  Manual  Alpha- 
bet a  few  short  words,  and  the  names  of  familiar  objects. 


NEW  YORK  INSTITUTION  FOE  THE  DEAF  AND  DUMB.  285 

When  about  fifty  words  have  been  thus  learned,  embracing 
all  the  letters  of  the  alphabet,  short  phrases  containing  an 
adjective  and  a  noun  are  formed,  which  they  are  required  to 
write  on  large  stationary  slates,  placed  all  around  the  class- 
rooms, and  thus  they  are  advanced  until  able  to  transfer  their 
knowledge  of  signs  to  the  printed  page.  The  progress  made 
by  these  hitherto  untaught  children  of  silence  is  surprising, 
and  those  who  complete  the  full  course  attain  to  high  scholar 
ship.  The  language  of  signs  is  much  more  definite  than 
many  suppose,  and  these  speechless  brethren  are  here  taught 
to  discern  between  the  things  that  differ.  At  a  recent  exami- 
nation, with  no  previous  intimation,  a  class  was  called  upon, 
in  sign  language,  to  write  and  explain  the  difference  between 
the  nearly  synonymous  terms  of  "  conceal  and  dissemble," 
"  antipathy  and  hatred,"  "  courage  and  fortitude."  In  every 
instance  the  proper  English  word  was  instantly  written  on  the 
slate  by  each  member  of  the  class  in  answer  to  the  sign,  and 
the  nice  distinctions  of  signification  made.  Several  years 
since  the  more  advanced  students  organized  themselves  into 
the  "Fanwood  Literary  Society,"  which  now  numbers  over 
one  hundred  members.  The  society  meets  every  Saturday 
evening,  and  is  characterized  by  animated  discussions  and 
lectures  in  the  pantomime  of  the  Institution. 

The  three  last  days  of  August,  1867,  will  long  be  remem- 
bered by  these  silent  brethren  ad  the  national  convention  of 
deaf-mutes,  held  at  the  New  York  Institution.  Four  hun- 
dred of  the  former  pupils  of  the  Institution,  and  over  one 
hundred  graduates  of  others,  assembled,  and  took  part  in  the 
interesting  exercises.  Seven  of  these  national  conventions 
have  now  been  held.  More  attention  than  formerly  has 
recently  been  given  to  the  matter  of  articulation.  This,  the 
Principal  believes  to  be  an  accomplishment,  and  a  matter  of 
decided  value  in  certain  cases,  though  of  little  service  to 
most  congenital  mutes,  and  a  system  that  can  never  super- 
sede the  more  enlarged  and  cultivated  language  of  signs. 
To  keep  the  Institution,  as  it  has  long  been,  in  the  forefront 
of  this  benign  movement,  Mr.  Engelsman,  a  German  expert 
in  this  system  of  instruction,  has  been  employed,  and  such 
semi-mutes  and  others  as  by  experiment  exhibit  talent  for 
articulation  are  placed  under  his  instruction.  This  class  at 
present  numbers  over  fifty  students. 

A  new  brick  building,  one  hundred  feet  by  thirty,  and  three 
etories  high,  has  just  been  erected  for  the  better  accommoda- 

17 


286 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


tion  of  the  mechanical  department.  In  addition  to  a  good 
education,  the  students,  unless  wealthy,  are  taught  trades,  so 
that  maintenance  will  not  be  a  difficult  problem  when  they 
return  to  the  outside  world.  Shoe-making,  cabinet-making, 
tailoring,  dress-making,  printing,  bookbinding,  and  engraving, 
have  been  taught  with  success,  in  addition  to  horticulture 
and  gardening. 

Less  than  twenty  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number,  but  nearly 
forty  per  cent,  of  the  adult  deaf  mutes  of  the  State,  marry 
and  rear  offspring,  not  more  than  one  in  twenty  of  whom 
inherit  the  infirmities  of  their  parents.  The  Institution  is 
free  from  sectarian  bigotry,  the  minds  of  the  pupils  being 
wisely  directed  to  the  Bible,  without  which  there  can  be  no 
complete  culture  of  mind  or  heart.  Prayer  is  offered  by  one 
of  the  teachers  in  the  sign  language  every  morning  and  even- 
ing in  the  chapel  before  the  whole  school.  On  the  Sabbath 
a  sermon  suited  to  their  capacities  is  delivered  in  the  same 
manner. 

At  table,  when  all  are  seated,  one  tap  of  the  drum,  the 
vibrations  of  which  none  hear  but  all  feel,  calls  the  vast  family 
to  silence,  after  which  a  blessing  is  invoked  with  signs  by  a 
teacher  standing  in  one  of  the  aisles,  and  at  the  close  of  this 
another  tap  is  the  signal  for  turning  plates  and  beginning  the 
dinner. 

The  sanitary  condition  of  the  Institution  is  all  that  can  be 
secured  in  our  day,  less  sickness  and  fewer  deaths  occurring 
in  it  than  among  the  more  hardy  population  around  it. 

The  library  contains  about  two  thousand  volumes,  three 
hundred  of  which  are  rare  books  on  deaf-mute  instruction. 
About  two  thousand  three  hundred  pupils  have  been  edu- 
cated since  the  opening  of  the  Institution.  The  professors 
have  always  ranked  among  the  best  educated  men  of  the 
State.  Half  of  those  now  employed  are  graduates  of  the 
Institution.  Dr.  Harvey  P.  Peet  was  called  to  the  office  of 
Principal  in  1831,  and  filled  this  position  with  great  ability 
for  thirty-six  years.  He  is  the  author  of  many  of  the  text- 
books in  this  and  other  American  institutions.  Weary  with 
the  toil  of  years,  he  resigned  his  position  at  the  close  of  1867, 
and  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Isaac  Lewis  Peet,  A.M.,  who 
had  been  the  Vice-Principal  for  fifteen  years,  and  who  bids 
fair  to  attain  to  the  celebrity  of  his  excellent  father. 


INSTITUTION  FOR   THE   IMPROVED   INSTRUCTION   OP  DEAF 

MUTES. 


(Broadway,  between  Forty-fourth  and  Forty-fifth  streets.) 

fFFEKENT  systems  foi  the  instruction  of  deaf  mutes 
aave  been  adopted  in  different  countries.  The  French 
nave  practised  upon  the  sign  language,  while  the  Ger- 
mans have  long  made  a  specialty  of  the  system  of 
articulation.  Several  years  ago,  Bernhard  Engelsman,  a 
learned  German  skilled  in  the  art  of  teaching  deaf-mutes  in 
this  latter  system,  came  to  New  York,  and  on  the  organization 
of  this  Institution  was  appointed  its  Principal,  and  thus  became 
the  founder  of  this  system  of  deaf-mute  instruction  in  this 
country.  The  new  Institution  was  opened  March  1,  1867, 
with  ten  pupils,  at  No.  134  West  Twenty-seventh  street.  The 
building  soon  became  too  small  for  the  increasing  number  of 
scholars,  so  that  in  May,  1868,  the  school,  having  nineteen 
pupils,  was  removed  to  No.  330  East  Fourteenth  street.  The 
•number  of  students  steadily  increased,  amounting  in  1869  to 
about  thirty — all  the  building  could  accommodate.  The 
society  was  incorporated  under  the  general  act  of  Legislature 
in  1868,  and  on  the  12th  of  April,  1870,  the  Legislature,  by 
special  act,  placed  it  on  a  level  with  the  New  York  Institution 
at  Washington  Heights,  so  that  indigent  students,  if  they  pre- 
fer, may  be  instructed  here,  as  at  the  other  institution,  at  State 
expense.  The  sum  of  §10,000  was  also  given  by  the  State  for 
the  establishment  of  the  Institution,  and  several  thousand  had 
previously  accumulated  in  the  treasury  of  the  society,  from 
the  donations  of  its  friends.  The  demand  for  increased  accom- 
modations led  the  trustees  to  lease  two  large  and  eligible 
houses  on  Broadway  in  the  summer  of  1870,  where  the  school 
is  at  present  conducted. 

A  desire  existing  in  many  minds  to  obtain  from  the  city  a 
site  on  which  to  erect  buildings,  a  formal  application  was  ac- 
cordingly filed  in  June,  1870,  with  the  Commissioners  of  the 
Sinking  Fund  of  the  city  of  New  York,  asking  a  grant  of  land 
for  the  purpose  above  named  ;  and  accordingly,  on  or  about 
August  1st,  1870,  the  president  had  the  gratification  of  re- 
ceiving the  deed  of  a  grant  of  land,  situated  on  the  westerly 
6ide  of  Lexington  avenue,  and  extending  from  Sixty-seventh 


288 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


to  Sixty-eighth  streets,  a  distance  of  two  hundred  feet  and  ten 
inches,  being  the  entire  front  of  a  block,  consisting  of  eight 
lots,  besides  four  lots  on  the  rear  of  these,  being  two  on  Sixty- 
seventh  and  Sixty-eighth  streets,  respectively,  and  forming 
one  plot,  at  the  annual  rental  of  one  dollar,  for  the  period  of 
ninety-nine  years.  "  This  land  to  be  devoted  to  the  purposes 
of  this  Institution,  and  for  such  purposes  only." 

Plain  and  substantial  buildings  are  to  be  erected  on  these 
grounds  as  soon  as  possible. 

The  Institution  is  directed,  and  in  part  supported,  by  an 
association  of  several  hundred  gentlemen,  mostly  of  German 
extraction,  who  are  annual  contributors.  On  the  15th  of 
July,  1869,  Mr.  Engelsman,  who  had  been  for  two  years  its 
Principal,  severed  his  connection  with  the  Institution,  and 
was  immediately  engaged  as  teacher  of  articulation  at  the 
New  York  Institution  at  "Washington  Heights.  The  prac- 
ticability of  imparting  instruction  by  both  the  French  system 
of  signs  and  the  German  system  of  articulation  in  one  Insti- 
tution will  therefore  be  fairly  tested,  and  differences  of  opin- 
ion upon  this  question  be  finally  settled.  The  Association 
now  resolved  to  bring  their  Institution  more  prominently 
before  the  public,  and  to  obtain  the  recognition  and  aid  of 
the  State.  Professor  F.  A.  Rising,  A.M.,  a  graduate  of 
Williams  College,  who  had  been  an  instructor  in  the  Ohio 
Institution,  and  also  in  the  ]STew  York  Institution  for  the 
Deaf  and  Dumb,  and  had  been  for  several  months  the  Vice- 
Principal  with  Mr.  Engelsman,  was  appointed  Principal  of 
the  Institution.  He  is  a  gentleman  of  talent  and  energy, 
entirely  devoted  to  his  calling,  and  since  his  assuming  charge 
of  the  Institution  it  has  secured  the  patronage  of  the  State,, 
and  now  ranks  favorably  with  sister  institutions  throughout 
the  United  States. 

Previous  to  their  removal  to  Broadway  thirty-four  pupils 
had  been  received,  about  half  the  number  being  day-scholars. 
At  the  close  of  1871  there  were  six  lady  teachers,  and  there 
had  been  admitted  during  the  year  seventy-five  pupils,  fifty 
of  whom  were  boarders.  Three  large  houses  are  now  well- 
nigh  filled,  and  the  applications  for  admittance  are  still 
numerous. 


THE  NEW  YORK  INSTITUTION  FOR  THE  BLIND. 


(Ninth  avenue  and  Thirty -fourth  street. ) 

A  striking  exhibition  of  the  wisdom  and  benevolence  of 
the  Creator  is  seen  in  his  raising  up,  from  time  to  time,  agen- 
cies to  guard  and  foster  every  interest  of  society.  For  many 
ages  the  blind  remained  wholly  untaught,  and  sat  mournfully, 
Bartimeus  like,  along  the  crowded  thoroughfare  of  human 
life.  Nothing  was  undertaken  in  America  to  ameliorate  their 
condition,  until  within  the  last  half  century.  Dr.  Samuel 
Ackerly,  Samuel  Wood,  and  Dr.  John  D.  Ross  have  the 
honor  of  being  chiefly  instrumental  in  inaugurating  a  move- 
ment for  this  long-neglected  class,  which  will  crown  their 
memories  with  undying  renown.  Early  in  1831,  through 
their  influence,  a  society  was  organized  in  New  York,  for  the 
purpose  of  founding  an  institution  for  the  education  of  the 
blind,  and  on  the  21st  of  April,  the  same  year,  the  State  Legis- 
lature passed  an  act  incorporating  the  society,  with  the  title 
of  "  The  New  York  Institution  for  the  Blind.">  A  school  with 
six  pupils  was  opened  May  19,  1832,  at  47  Mercer  street, 
under  Dr.  Russ,  which  was  the  first  of  its  kind  on  the  conti- 


290 


NEW  YOKE  ANT>  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


nent.  By  the  aid  of  fairs  and  donations,  a  piece  of  ground 
and  buildings  on  Eighth  avenue  were  obtained  of  James 
Boorman,  at  a  nominal  rent,  with  covenant  to  sell.  An  in- 
structor in  the  mechanic  arts  was  procured,  and  on  December 
2d,  1833,  their  first  public  exhibition  was  held  in  the  City  Hall. 
The  proficiency  of  the  sixteen  pupils  present,  in  reading  from 
raised  letters,  their  knowledge  of  geography,  arithmetic,  of 
music,  and  the  skill  of  their  workmanship  in  mats,  mattresses, 
and  baskets,  excited  great  interest. 

In  the  inception  of  the  movement,  the  managers  only  con- 
templated the  instruction  of  the  blind  of  their  own  city ;  but 
as  applications  continued  to  pour  in  from  abroad,  they  soon 
felt  the  necessity  for  enlarged  and  better  accommodations. 
The  present  site  of  the  Institution  was  obtained  of  Mr.  Boor- 
man  at  a  reduction  of  $10,000  below  its  market  value.  On 
the  30th  of  April,  1836,  $12,000  were  given  by  the  State,  on 
condition  that  $8,000  more  would  be  raised  by  the  managers  ; 
and  in  1839  another  grant  of  $15,000  was  made,  to  assist  in 
erecting  the  buildings.  When  the  site  was  originally  ob- 
tained, it  was  far  outside  of  the  improved  portions  of  the 
city,  but  is  now  in  the  midst  of  a  densely-populated  section. 
It  is  situated  between  Thirty-third  and  Thirty-fourth  streets, 
fronting  on  Ninth  avenue,  is  two  hundred  feet  wide  and 
eight  hundred  feet  deep.  The  building  was  originally  a 
three-story,  constructed  of  Sing-Sing  marble,  strongly  but- 
tressed and  surmoimted  with  turrets,  presenting  an  imposing 
f acade  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet,  with  a  north  and 
a  south  wing  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  each.  The 
building  has  been  greatly  improved  during  the  last  year  by 
the  addition  of  a  mansard  story,  enlarging  the  accommoda- 
tions, and  enhancing  its  general  appearance. 

A  broad  yard  of  fine  cultivation  is  spread  in  front  of  the 
Institution,  and  the  workshops  occupy  the  rear.  The  society 
is  a  private  corporation,  and  elects  its  board  of  twenty  man- 
agers annually,  which  are  divided  into  four  committees  ;  one 
on  finance  ;  one  on  supplies,  repairs,  and  improvements ;  one 
on  music  and  instruction  ;  and  one  on  manufactures.  Each 
committee  has  charge  of  the  department  indicated  by  its 
name,  and  holds  a  weekly  meeting,  while  as  a  board  of  man- 
agers they  meet  monthly  for  the  transaction  of  regular  busi- 
ness. The  managers  serve  gratuitously,  many  giving  much 
valuable  time  to  the  interests  of  the  Institution.  It  has  never 
been  the  design  of  the  managers  to  make  this  a  permanent 


NEW  YOEK  INSTITUTION  FOR  THE  BUND. 


291 


"  Home  "  or  "  Asylum  "  for  the  blind,  nor  yet  a  "  Hospital " 
for  the  treatment  of  optical  diseases,  neither  is  it  a  Prison 
where  persons  are  involuntarily  detained,  but  emphatically  a 
school  for  instruction,  to  be  entered  or  abandoned  on  mutual 
agreement.  Only  about  seventeen  per  cent,  of  the  blind  were 
born  without  sight,  the  rest  having  lost  it  by  disease  or  acci- 
dent. 

During  the  forty-one  years  of  its  operations,  the  Institu- 
tion has  had  under  its  instruction  something  more  than  one 
thousand  different  persons,  most  of  whom  have  been  young. 
On  January  1,  1873,  its  students  numbered  166,  though  195 
names  had  been  on  the  roll  during  the  year,  none  of  whom 
had  been  in  the  Institution  over  seven  years.  In  1834  the 
managers  began  to  receive  State  pupils,  i.e.,  the  indigent  blind, 
who  have  since  been  educated  at  the  public  expense.  Only 
those  are  now  received  and  educated  as  New  York  State 
pupils  who  are  residents  of  the  counties  of  Suffolk,  Queens, 
Kings,  and  New  York.  Application  for  admission  must  be 
made  to  the  Superintendent.  Pay  pupils  are  also  received 
at  $300  per  year.  About  ninety-four  per  cent,  of  all  received 
have  been  New  York  State  pupils ;  the  remaining  six  per 
cent,  have  been  pay  pupils,  and  those  admitted  from  New 
Jersey. 

The  total  expenditures  of  the  society  during  the  first  thirty- 
eight  years  amounted  to  $2,025,000.  The  managers  thank- 
fully acknowledge  the  generous  aid  received  from  the  Legis 
lature,  which  has  amounted  to  over  $20,000  per  annum  on  an 
average ;  yet  to  their  credit  be  it  remembered  that  sixty  per 
cent,  of  all  their  expenditures  has  been  obtained  through  their 
own  management  and  liberality.  The  society  was  for  many 
years  encumbered  with  debt,  which  was  at  length  removed, 
though  the  improvements  of  the  last  year,  amounting  to  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  dolWs.  have  again 
somewhat  involved  the  Institution,  which  indebtedness  the 
managers  have  secured  by  mortgaging  the  property.  The 
annual  expense  of  the  Institution  at  present  amounts  to  about 
$55,000,  which  appears  at  first  view  like  a  large  sum ;  but 
when  we  consider  the  unavoidable  expenditures  of  its  triple 
instruction  departments,  literary,  musical,  and  industrial,  the 
extra  service  necessary  to  care  for  so  many  who  walk  in  per- 
petual darkness,  and  the  wastes  of  material  in  their  in- 
struction, our  opinions  are  greatly  modified.    Books  for  the 


292 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


blind  are  expensive.  The  American  Bible  Society  furnishes 
a  Bible  to  those  who  have  sight  for  forty-five  cents,  but  the 
same  society  charges,  for  the  cheapest  Bible  for  the  blind,  $32. 

A  map  of  the  United  States,  suited  to  an  ordinary  school- 
room, may  be  obtained  for  $3  or  $4 ;  but  one  of  the  kind 
adapted  to  the  blind  costs  $75  ;  and  so  on  to  the  end  of  the 
chapter. 

Books,  however  costly,  are  required  in  all  branches  of  study. 
The  literary  department  embraces  a  thorough  English  course, 
including  higher  mathematics,  philosophy,  chemistry,  history, 
etc. 

Particular  attention  is  given  to  music,  in  which  the  blind 
often  excel.  In  the  Industrial  department,  mat,  broom,  and 
mattress  making,  and  many  kinds  of  fancy  work,  are  taught. 
Much  material  is  unavoidably  wasted  in  the  workshop, 
where  so  many  clumsy  fingers  must  feel  their  way  to  knowl- 
edge and  usefulness.  The  course  of  instruction  pursued  by 
each  pupil  is  the  one  for  which  he  appears  to  be  best 
adapted.  Some  pass  through  all  three  departments,  others 
but  one.  The  most  gratifying  results  have  crowned  the 
thoughtful  endeavors  of  this  benevolent  association.  It  has 
supplied  the  means  of  culture,  of  subsistence,  in  some  cases 
of  affluence  and  of  great  usefulness,  to  a  large  portion  of  the 
community  who  otherwise  must  have  remained  a  burden  to 
themselves  and  their  friends.  Among  the  students  of 
former  years  may  now  be  numbered  merchants,  manu- 
facturers, Mfe  and  fire  insurance  agents,  organists,  teachers, 
farmers,  and  clergymen. 

During  the  last  few  years,  the  use  of  the  sewing  machine 
has  been  introduced  among  the  girls,  some  of  whom  have 
already  proved  themselves  adepts  in  its  management,  per- 
forming the  finest  and  most  difficult  tasks  with  great  facility. 
Every  encouragement  to  industry  is  afforded.  As  soon  as 
one  becomes  a  successful  workman,  he  receives  some  wages, 
when  he  is  encouraged  to  open  an  account  with  a  saving 
bank,  which  many  have  done.  The  last  year  of  their  stay, 
they  receive  full  journeyman's  wages  for  all  they  do,  to 
enable  them  to  start  business  for  themselves  when  they 
return  to  the  outside  world. 

The  Institution  is  under  Protestant  management,  but  per- 
sons of  any  creed  are  received,  without  designedly  interfering 
with  their  religious  faith.  About  one-third  of  the  teachers 
in  the  Institution  are  blind,  and  have  been  educated  within 


BLOOMDTGDALE  ASYLUM  FOE  THE  INSANE.  293 


its  walls.  Among  the  number  is  Mr.  Stephen  Babcock,  who 
is  a  cultivated  Christian  gentleman.  The  principal  difficulty  in 
the  matter  of  educating  the  blind  has  been  in  the  lack  of  a 
system  of  writing  and  printing  adapted  to  the  touch  of  all. 
Carefully  compiled  statistics  show  that,  with  the  line-sign 
system  mostly  employed  in  this  country,  not  more  than  forty- 
eight  per  cent,  of  the  blind  pupils  have  ever  been  able  to  read 
with  tolerable  facility.  The  Superintendent  of  the  New  York 
Institution,  Mr.  William  JB.  Wait,  has  had  this  matter  for  sev- 
eral years  under  examination,  and  after  the  most  thorough 
analysis  of  the  principles  of  the  language,  and  of  the  wants 
and  capacities  of  the  blind,  has  finally  invented,  and  intro- 
duced into  his  school,  a  new  point-sign  system,  which  all  can 
readily  learn,  which  may  be  written  by  the  blind,  and  which 
will  greatly  aid  in  their  education. 

At  a  convention  of  Superintendents  of  the  various  Insti- 
tutions for  the  blind  in  the  United  States,  held  in  Indianapolis 
in  August,  1871,  this  system,  after  thorough  discussion,  was 
unanimously  adopted  as  the  system  of  point  writing  and 
printing  for  all  the  American  Institutions.  Mr.  Wait  is  now 
engaged  in  adapting  the  system  to  the  writing  of  music. 


BLOOMINGDALE  ASYLUM  FOR  THE  IXSANB. 


AMONG  all  the  diseases  that  afflict  our  fallen  world, 
none  is  so  dreadful  as  insanity.  The  wretched  maniac  not 
only  suffers  the  waste  and  collapse  of  his  physical  organism, 
but  is  often  tortured  with  the  greatest  conceivable  agonies 
of  mind.  We  can  trace  this  disease  back  to  the  early 
ages.  The  Israelites  were  threatened  with  madness  if  they 
disobeyed  the  Divine  command. — Dent,  xxviii.  28.  David 
feigned  madness  when  he  visited  Achish.  Nebuchadnezzar 
lost  his  reason ;  and  Jesus  of  Nazareth  wrought  many  miracles 
on  the  insane.  The  causes  of  insanity  are  various.  Nearly 
one-third  of  all  the  insanity  in  the  world  is  hereditary.  The 
exciting  causes  from  whence  much  of  it  springs  are  both 
physical  and  moral.  In  France  the  largest  number  of  cases 
by  far  are  said  to  result  from  moral  excitement,  but  in 
England  and  the  United  States,  from  physical.  Insanity,  to 
a  great  degree,  is  an  evil  attending  high  civilization.  Dr. 
Living-tone  found  but  one  or  two  instances  of  it  among  all 
the  African  tribes  he  visited,  but  one  of  the  Bakwains,  who 
was  to  accompany  him  to  Europe,  became  insane  from  the 
throng  of  new  ideas  that  entered  his  mind,  and  committed 


BLOOMINGDALE  ASYLUM  FOE  THE  INSANE.  295 

suicide.  Insanity  was  a  rare  thing  in  China  under  a  galling 
despotism,  but  since  the  rebellion  it  is  said  to  have  much 
increased.  In  India  and  Japan  there  are  few  lunatics.  In 
Italy,  Austria,  and  Spain,  less  than  in  the  more  enlightened 
countries  of  Europe.  In  France  one  in  a  thousand  is  insane, 
in  England  one  in  seven  hundred  and  eighty-three,  in  Scot- 
land one  in  five  hundred  and  sixty-three,  in  the  United 
States  one  in  seven  hundred  and  fifty.  These  facts  do  not 
argue  in  favor  of  ignorance  and  despotism,  but  of  a  more 
serious  attention  and  conformity  to  the  established  conditions 
of  life  and  healthy  activity. 

The  Bloomingdale  Asylum  for  the  Insane  is  a  branch  of 
the  New  York  Hospital.  The  old  South  Hospital,  erected  in 
1806,  was  for  fifteen  years  wholly  devoted  to  the  insane. 
The  Legislature  assisted  in  the  organization  of  this  branch  of 
the  hospital  from  the  first,  and  in  1816  increased  the  annual 
appropriation  to  §22,500,  on  condition  that  the  treatment  of 
the  various  forms  and  degrees  of  insanity  should  be  con- 
tinued. 

The  propriety  of  removing  the  insane  to  a  more  quiet 
retreat  than  could  be  afforded  in  a  great  city  was  early  felt 
by  the  "  governors,"  and  a  committee  to  select  a  suitable  loca- 
tion was  appointed.  The  purchase  of  the  present  site  and 
grounds,  consisting  of  forty-five  acres,  was  early  recom- 
mended. Some  considered  the  land  at  Bloomingdale  too 
remote  from  the  city,  and  the  attention  of  the  committee 
was  called  to  several  other  sites ;  but,  after  examining  each, 
they  adhered  to  their  original  recommendation,  saying  that 
within  forty  years  from  that  time  it  would  be  rather  wished 
that  the  establishment  were  at  a  greater  distance  from  the 
centre  of  population,  a  prediction  that  has  been  literally 
fulfilled.  The  Hospital  at  that  early  day  was  managed  by  a 
board  of  liberal  and  large-minded  governors,  who,  without 
established  precedents  to  guide  them  in  their  difficult  under- 
taking, founded  an  institution  for  the  insane,  which,  in  its 
appointments  and  treatment,  was  far  in  advance  of  any  in 
un\  or  in  any  other  country.  The  Institution  is  situated  on 
One  Hundred  and  Seventeenth  street,  between  Tenth  and 
Eleventh  avenues,  seven  miles  north  of  the  City  Hall.  The 
main  edifice,  capable  of  accommodating  seventy-five  patients, 
was  completed  and  ready  for  the  reception  of  inmates  in 
June,  1821,  and  was  at  that  time  the  finest  building  of  its 
kind  in  the  world.    The  "governors"  resolved  to  give  the 


296 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


Asylum  the  appearance  of  a  palace  rather  than  a  jail,  and 
contracted  to  have  the  walls  of  marble,  but,  failing  to  obtain 
this,  hewn  brown  stone  was  substituted.  The  ceilings  are 
high,  the  stories  furnished  with  ample  corridors,  the  window 
frames  are  of  iron,  ingeniously  concealed,  the  apartments 
spacious  and  exquisitely  furnished  with  every  comfort  of 
the  best-regulated  home.  Books,  papers,  pictures,  music, 
indeed,  everything  calculated  to  awaken  lofty  and  pleasant 
sentiments,  are  collected  and  grouped  together  in  the  happiest 
manner  in  this  building.  Lectures  and  exhibitions  are  at 
times  added.  The  inmates  are  not  closely  confined  here,  as 
only  the  quiet  and  convalescent  remain  in  this  building. 
The  edifice  contains  also  the  apartments  for  the  warden  and 
assistants,  the  reception  and  reading  rooms,  which  are  as 
quiet  as  if  no  lunatic  were  on  the  premises.  A  building  for 
the  more  violent  of  the  male  sex  was  erected  in  1830,  at 
some  distance  to  the  north-west  of  the  main  edifice,  and  in 
1837  another  for  females  was  added,  situated  in  an  opposite 
direction  from  the  main  building.  These  were  originally 
sixty  by  forty  feet,  three  stories  high,  constructed  of  brick, 
but  were  in  1854  much  enlarged  and  improved.  The  orig- 
inal cost  of  the  property  somewhat  exceeded  $250,000.  The 
laundry  is  a  separate  building,  seventy-five  by  forty  feet,  and 
three  stories  high.  The  washing  is  performed  with  machin- 
ery in  the  lower  story,  the  second  floor  contains  drying, 
ironing,  and  store  rooms,  and  the  third  the  dormitories  for 
the  domestics.  The  Asylum  is  capable  of  accommodating  with- 
out undue  crowding,  which  is  never  resorted  to,  about  one 
hundred  and  seventy  inmates,  and  is  always  full.  The 
patients  are  classified  and  separated  according  to  the  form 
their  mental  ailments  have  assumed,  whether  monomania, 
mania,  dementia,  idiotism,  or  delirium  a  potu.  Harsh  treat- 
ment is  never  resorted  to,  and  the  appearance  of  the  largest 
liberty  is  granted  all  except  the  most  violent.  The  general 
treatment  is  arranged  so  as  to  recover  from  physical  disease 
when  necessary,  and  restore  mental  self-control  by  dissolving 
all  morbid  associations. 

A  part  of  the  grounds  is  devoted  to  gardening,  and  a  great 
variety  of  trees  and  ornamental  shrubbery  adorn  the  premises, 
making  them  a  terrestrial  paradise  during  the  sultry  season. 
The  buildings  are  surrounded  with  separate  and  appropriate 
yards,  where  the  patients  enjoy  prolonged  out-door  recreation 
during  pleasant  weather,  without  destroying  the  distinctions 


BLOOMTNGDALE  ASYLUM  FOE  THE  INSANE. 


297 


established  in  their  medical  classification.    Religious  services 
are  conducted  every  Sabbath  by  the  chaplain,  and  are  attended 
by  many  of  the  patients.    The  warden  and  matron  appointed 
by  the  "  governors  "  have  charge  of  the  buildings,  supplies, 
kitchen,  servants,  etc.    The  superior  officer  of  the  Asylum  is, 
however,  the  resident  physician,  who  is  required  to  be  a 
married  man,  reside  on  the  premises,  give  his  undivided 
attention  to  the  Institution,  and  who  is  solely  responsible  for 
the  treatment  of  the  patients.    Patients  are  received  from 
any  part  of  the  State,  on  such  conditions  as  can  be  agreed 
upon,  from  eight  to  thirty  dollars  per  week  being  required, 
according  to  their  circumstances,  three  months'  board  being 
required  in  advance.    The  expense  of  conducting  the  Institu- 
tion the  last  year  was  $110,985,  and  the  receipts  from  the 
patients  §115,179.    The  laying  out  of  the  Boulevard,  which 
has  become  the  great  pleasure  drive  of  the  island,  passing 
within  a  hundred  and  twenty  feet  of  the  Men's  Lodge,  where 
the  most  disturbed  are  domiciled,  has  laid  upon  the  society  the 
necessity  of  removing  the  Asylum  to  a  more  retired  location. 
The  experienced  physician,  D.  Tilclen  Brown,  who  has  been 
connected  with  the  establishment  since  1852,  has  recom- 
mended that  the  new  Institution  be  located  where  it  can  re- 
main undisturbed  by  any  large  settlement  for  at  least  fifty 
years;  that  such  ample  grounds  be  secured  that  fifty  acres 
may  be  appropriated  for  the  exercise  of  each  sex,  leaving 
sufficient  for  gardening  and  farming  purposes,  and  a  still 
further  extension  for  long  walks  and  drives  on  the  asylum 
property  alone.    He  further  recommended  that  the  premises 
be  not  only  supplied  with  an  abundance  of  good  water,  but 
be  as  beautiful  in  their  location  and  surroundings  as  could 
be  obtained.  The  "  governors  "  have  recently  purchased  nearly 
three  hundred  acres  of  land  at  White  Plains,  with  a  view  of 
erecting  at  no  distant  day  at  that  place,  unless  a  more  eligible 
lot  can  be  procured,  large  and  commodious  buildings,  in 
eeping  with  the  most  advanced  theories  of  treatment  in  this 
age.    tt  will  probably  take  a  number  of  years,  however,  to 
remove  the  Asylum.    The  whole  number  of  inmates  under 
treatment  during  a  year  average  from  275  to  335,  from  fifty 
to  eighty  of  whom  are  said  to  recover ;  from  thirty-five  to 
fifty  are  pronounced  "  improved  / "  a  smaller  numbei  art 
returned  as  "  not  improved; "  and  twenty-five  or  thirty  die. 
The  largest  number  are  females,  and  the  majority  of  all  received 
between  the  ages  of  twenty  and  thirty  years,  after  which  the 


298 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


number  decreases  with  every  decade  up  to  eighty  years. 
Early  admission  into  an  asylum  is  considered  desirable,  afford- 
ing not  only  physical  safety  to  the  patient  and  his  family, 
but  greater  probability  of  permanent  recovery.  The  presence 
of  relatives  often  greatly  irritates  the  poor  sufferer,  enforced 
submission  always  proves  sadly  injurious,  and  but  few  possess 
the  mental  and  moral  faculties  to  successfully  control  the 
insane.  The  undertaking  is  the  most  difficult  and  dangerous 
in  the  world,  requiring  great  sagacity,  skill,  and  delicacy  of 
treatment. 


i 


THE  NEW  YORK  ORPHAN  ASYLUM. 


"  The  Orphan  Asylum  Society  in  the  city  of  New  York  "  is 
the  oldest  and  one  of  the  best  endowed  of  its  class  in  the 
United  States.  Mrs.  Joanna  Betlmne  was  the  original  pro- 
poser of  its  plan,  and  has  been  pronounced  the  mother  of 
the  institution.  This  lady,  before  the  Orphan  House  was 
planned,  had  been  deeply  interested  in  a  society  that  cared 
for  widows  and  young  children,  and  as  these  widows  died 
leaving  helpless  little  ones,  her  kind  heart  often  grieved  that 
these,  by  rule,  should  be  excluded  from  the  assistance  of  the 
society,  which  they  now  more  than  ever  required.  Hence  the 
step  between  a  widows'  society  and  an  orphan  asylum  became 
to  her  natural  and  necessary.  The  first  call  for  the  Orphan 
Asylum  Society  was  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Divie  Betlmne, 
written  at  the  request  of  his  wife.  Mrs.  Bethune  continued 
her  earnest  exertions  in  behalf  of  the  society  for  more  than 
fifty-four  years,  serving  successively  as  trustee,  treasurer, 
second  directress,  and  first  directress.  She  died  in  peace 
July  28,  1860,  aged  ninety-two  years. 

The  act  of  incorporation  passed  the  Legislature  April  7, 
1807,  granting  privilege  to  hold  personal  and  real  estate  to 

18 


300 


NEW   YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


the  amount  of  $100,000,  for  the  legitimate  uses  of  the  society. 
The  power  to  bind  out  children  was  granted  by  a  special  act 
passed  February  10,  IS 09,  and  in  1811  an  act  was  passed 
granting  the  society  $;'00  per  annum  from  the  fund  arising 
from  auction  duties.  This  annuity  was  continued  forty-two 
years,  but  was  discontinued  in  1853.  The  original  charter 
was  limited  to  twenty-one  years,  and  has  since  been  twice 
renewed.  The  business  of  the  society  is  conducted  by  a 
board  of  (lady)  trustees,  annually  elected  by  the  society,  of 
which  all  ladies  contributing  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  per 
year  are  members.  The  operations  of  the  society  began  in 
a  small  hired  house  in  Raisin  street,  and  in  April,  1807,  the 
society  held  its  annual  meeting  in  the  City  Hotel,  on  Broad- 
way. The  orphan  children,  more  than  twenty  in  number, 
were  presented  to  the  view  of  the  public  on  this  occasion, 
and  an  appeal  made  for  means  to  provide  enlarged  accom- 
modations. The  public  generously  responded,  four  lots  of 
ground  in  Greenwich  were  purchased,  and  the  same  year  a 
brick  building  fifty  feet  square,  and  designed  to  accommodate 
nearly  two  hundred  children,  was  completed,  at  an  expense 
of  $15,000.  Mr.  Philip  Jacobs  bequeathed  to  the  society  two 
houses  and  lots  on  Broadway,  a  house  and  lot  in  Warren 
street,  one  in  Pearl  street,  and  a  tract  of  wild  land,  the  annual 
income  of  all  amounting  to  about  $4,000.  The  litigation 
attending  the  acquisition  of  this  property  cost  $15,000,  but 
in  1833  the  court  confirmed  the  bequest,  which  laid  the 
foundation  of  the  permanent  prosperity  of  the  society,  and 
forms  still  the  basis  of  its  invested  resources.  The  devasta- 
tion produced  by  the  cholera  in  1834,  which  swept  away  the 
female  teacher  and  a  number  of  the  children,  induced  the 
society  to  abandon  the  city  and  build  an  asylum  in  the 
country.  Nine  and  a  quarter  acres  of  land  were  purchased 
west  of  Broadway,  between  Seventy-third  and  Seventy-fourth 
streets,  and  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  edifice  laid  with  ap- 
propriate services  June  6,  1836. 

The  building  was  one  hundred  and  twenty  by  sixty  feet, 
with  three  stories  and  basement,  and  cost  $45,000.  In  1855 
two  spacious  wings,  corresponding  in  size  and  style  with  the 
first  building,  were  added  at  a  cost  of  $40,000,  affording  ac- 
commodations for  more  than  have  ever  been  received.  The 
buildings  are  of  brick,  stuccoed  in  imitation  of  yellow 
marble ;  the  yards  and  play -grounds  are  ample ;  the  location 


THE  NEW  YORK  ORPHAN  ASYLUM. 


SOI 


being  on  high  ground,  and  near  the  Hudson,  is  one  of  the 
finest  on  the  island. 

The  land  purchased  for  §17,500,  with  the  growth  of  the 
city  and  the  laying  out  of  the  new  Public  £>rive,  has  in- 
creased in  value  to  at  least  a  million,  and  the  managers  have 
recently  sold  three  aud  a  half  acres  of  their  grounds  for  the 
handsome  sum  of  §300,000. 

The  society  has  purchased  thirty-seven  acres  of  land  at 
Hastings,  and  contemplates  the  removal  of  the  Asylum  to 
that  place  at  no  very  distant  day. 

Orphan  children  under  ten  years  of  age  are  admitted  from 
any  locality ;  they  are  clothed,  boarded,  educated,  and 
trained  to  habits  of  industry,  the  girls  in  the  several  depart- 
ments of  the  house,  and  the  boys  in  the  garden  and  yard. 
None  admitted  are  allowed  to  depart  until  they  have  spent 
one  year  in  the  Institution,  and  have  made  some  progress  in 
reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic.  Children  are  indentured 
to  married  persons,  keeping  house  in  the  State  of  New  York, 


mended  by  their  pastors. 

During  the  first  thirty  years  of  its  existence  the  society  re- 
ceived 931,  and  had  an  annual  average  of  170  inmates, 
which  were  supported  at  a  trifle  less  than  $i2  per  annum 
for  each  child.  Its  family  has  at  no  time  since  much  ex- 
ceeded two  hundred,  but  the  doors  of  the  Asylum  have  never 
been  closed  against  a  proper  applicant.  One  room  is  devoted 
-to  infant  orphan  children,  who  are  reared  with  great  care- 
fulness. No  death  has  occurred  in  the  Asylum  in  three  years. 
The  invested  funds  of  the  society  bringing  an  income  of 
about  §10,000,  less  than  half  the  annual  expense  of  the  Insti- 
tution, while  on  the  one  hand  a  blessing,  have  nevertheless 
proved  a  bar  to  shut  away  the  donations  of  the  benevolent, 
leaving  the  managers  to  annually  struggle  with  their  expendi- 
tures. The  Superintendent,  Mr.  Charles  S.  Pell,  is  an  educated 
gentleman,  formerly  principal  of  Public  School  No.  8,  New 
York  city,  and  has  successfully  conducted  the  affairs  of  the 
Asylum  for  twenty  years. 


regular  attendants 


recom- 


COLORED  ORPHAN"  ASYLUM. 

( One  Hundred  and  Forty-third  street  and  Tenth  avenue. ) 

This  Institution  was  the  "first  established  in  the  city  for  the 
relief  of  the  colored  people,  who  had  been  for  ages  crushed 
under  the  tyranny  of  caste,  and  excluded  from  nearly  every 
public  and  private  charity.  But  the  period  arrived  for  a 
change  in  public  sentiment.  The  emancipation  of  the  colored 
population  in  the  West  Indies  was  followed  by  marked  results 
in  this  country.  About  1833  Miss  Anna  II.  Shotwell  and 
Miss  Mary  Murray  boldly  took  in  hand  the  matter  of  estab- 
lishing a  Home  for  colored  children.  Their  earnest  and 
continued  appeals  to  the  public  secured  in  small  sums  at 
length  about  two  thousand  dollars,  and  in  1836  a  board  of 
twenty-two  lady  managers  were  elected,  with  an  advisory 


and  the  enterprise  fully  launched,  under  the  title  of  the 
"  Association  for  the  Benefit  of  Colored  Orphans."  But  so 
violent  was  the  prejudice  against  the  colored  race,  that  three 
long  months  were  spent  in  a  fruitless  search  for  a  suitable 
building.  Property-owners  could  be  induced,  on  no  conditions, 
to  lease  an  empty  dwelling  for  such  uses.  A  small  frame 
cottage  was  at  length  purchased  on  Twelfth  street  for  $9,000, 


A  constitution  was 


COLORED  ORPHAN  ASYLUM. 


303 


which  the  friends  of  the  enterprise  furnished  with  their  half- 
worn  furniture,  a  mortgage  of  $6,000  remaining  for  some 
years  on  the  property.  In  1838  the  society  was  duly  incor- 
porated by  act  of  Legislature.  The  building  purchased  soon 
proved  too  small,  and  after  repeated  applications  to  the  Com- 
mon Council,  a  grant  of  sixteen  city  lots  on  Fifth  avenue,  be- 
tween Forty-third  and  Forty- fourth  streets,  was  made,  to 
which  several  were  subsequently  added  by  purchase,  and  a 
suitable  edifice  erected  at  an  expense  of  $7,000.  Here  the 
operations  of  the  society  were  successfully  conducted  for  six- 
teen years,  amid  the  waning  prejudices  of  the  people.  But 
one  last  great  storm  gathered  and  finally  broke  upon  this 
excellent  Institution.  The  frenzied  rioters  of  July,  1863,  burst 
open  its  doors,  heaped  together  its  light  furniture,  which  was 
saturated  with  highly  inflammable  material,  and  despite  the 
efforts  of  a  few  brave  friends  to  save  it,  was  set  on  fire,  and 
in  twenty  minutes  the  edifice  was  a  smoking  ruin.  Thirty 
minutes  previous  to  their  entrance  the  matron  had  no  appre- 
hensions of  danger.  The  Asylum  at  that  time  contained  233 
children,  who  under  the  prudent  management  of  the  officers 
of  the  Institution,  and  covered  by  a  special  providence,  nearly 
as  striking  as  when  the  Hebrews  were  in  the  furnace,  were 
marched  through  the  midst  of  this  screeching  mob  to  the 
station-house  in  Thirty-fifth  street,  without  receiving  the 
slightest  harm.  Here  they  remained  three  days,  crowded 
together  to  make  place  for  the  bleeding,  groaning  ruffians 
arrested  by  the  policemen.  When  order  was  again  restored,  the 
children,  under  a  strong  guard,  were  removed  to  the  almshouse 
on  Black  well's  Island.  When  the  children  were  marched  out 
of  their  loved  Asylum,  so  soon  to  be  destroyed,  a  little  girl 
picked  up  the  large  family  Bible  in  the  dining-room,  from 
which  she  had  been  accustomed  to  hciar  read  twice  each  day 
those  lessons  of  Heavenly  wisdom,  and  putting  it  under  her 
arm  she  carried  it  to  the  station-house,  and  thence  to  Black- 
well's  Island.  The  apparel  of  the  children,  the  clothing  and 
private  effects  of  the  officers  and  teachers,  and  the  record* 
of  the  society,  kept  by  the  same  secretary  for  twenty-seven 
years,  were  nearly  ail  destroyed. 

The  managers  now  wisely  resolved  to  remove  the  Institu- 
tion to  a  more  retired  locality.  Their  grounds,  with  the  rapid 
growth  of  the  city,  had  now  greatly  increased  in  value,  which 
they  were  enabled  to  sell  for  $175,000 ;  and  a  beautiful  plot  of 
ground,  at  One  Hundred  and  Forty-third  street  and  Tenth  ave* 


304 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


nue,  was  purchased  for  $45,000.  The  children  remained  in  the 
almshouse,  attended  by  their  officers  and  teachers,  receiving 
such  instruction  as  the  circumstances  would  admit,  from  July 
16,  to  October  19,  1863,  when  they  were  removed  to  the 
Fields  mansion,  now  the  Home  and  School  for  Soldiers'  Chil- 
dren, at  Washington  Heights.  A  large  bowling-alley  was 
converted  into  a  school-room,  and  the  main  edifice  extensively 
repaired.  The  corner-stone  of  their  new  Asylum  was  laid 
in  August,  1867,  and  the  buildings  completed  in  September, 
1868.  They  are  constructed  of  brick,  in  the  Rhenish  order, 
three  stories  with  basement,  with  a  frontage  of  two  hun- 
dred and  thirty-four  feet,  and  a  depth  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  feet,  surmounted  with  three  unique,  octagonal 
towers,  and  have  accommodations  for  over  three  hundred 
children.  The  first  floor  contains  reception-room,  parlor, 
private  apartments  for  officers,  infant  class-room,  and  chapel, 
which  is  very  large  and  beautiful,  used  during  the  week  for 
the  general  school-room  for  the  larger  scholars.  Adjoining 
is  a  spacious  veranda,  the  favorite  resort  of  the  children 
during  brief  intermissions.  Immediately  over  the  chapel,  on 
the  west  side  of  the  building,  is  the  principal  dormitory  for 
the  girls,  containing  eighty-six  tidy  single  beds.  Two  other 
apartments  are  set  apart  for  the  same  use  for  the  girls,  and 
two  for  the  boys.  The  buildings  are  for  the  most  part  fire- 
proof, the  stairs  being  constructed  with  stone  steps,  and  part 
of  the  windows  furnished  with  sheet-iron  blinds.  The  wash- 
ing, drying,  cooking,  and  pumping  are  performed  with  steam, 
and  the  edifice  heated  with  the  same  element.  The  parlor 
very  appropriately  contains  the  picture  of  Miss  Shotv\  ell,  its 
principal  foundress. 

The  fiends  who  meanly  sought  the  destruction  of  the  Insti- 
tution had  no  conceptions  of  the  splendid  future  certain  to 
dawn  upon  the  enterprise.  Driven  from  an  edifice  of  $7,000, 
they  soon  entered  one  worth  §130,000.  "  The  memory  of  the 
just  is  blessed;  but  the  name  of  the  wicked  shall  rot."  The 
cosey  wood  cottage  formerly  occupied  by  the  owner  of  the 
premises  still  stands,  and  is  occupied  as  an  infirmary.  The 
ample  lawns,  yet  unadorned  by  art,  are  excpiisitely  beautiful, 
the  architecture  faultless  in  style  and  proportions,  the  view 
from  the  observatory  so  rich  and  extensive  that  one  cannot 
visit  this  peerless  place,  and  contemplate  its  saintly  charities, 
without  feeling  himself  improved  and  drawn  perceptibly 
nearer  to  Heaven. 


PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL  ORPHAN  HOME  AND  ASYLUM.  305 


The  Asylum  contains  at  this  writing  282  children,  about 
1,650  having  been  received  since  its  opening,  June  9, 
1837.  Children  are  received  between  the  ages  of  two  and 
ten  years,  and  are  retained  until  they  complete  their  twelfth 
year,  when  they  are  apprenticed,  generally  to  farmers.  Much 
of  the  lighter  work  of  the  establishment  is  performed  by  the 
older  girls,  and  a  number  are  employed  permanently  in 
the  sewing-room,  and  in  special  service  in  different  parts  of 
the  house.  The  board  of  children  received  and  again  with- 
drawn by  their  parents  is  placed  at  the  moderate  rate  of 
seventy-five  cents  per  week.  The  schools  are  well  conducted, 
and  the  usual  per  capita  appropriation  from  the  State  educa- 
tional fund  is  received.  An  appropriation  of  $25,000  was  re- 
ceived from  the  Legislature  in  1869,  and  the  sum  of  §6,570 
from  the  Commissioners  of  Charities  and  Corrections.  The 
annual  expenses  of  the  Institution  exceed  §30,000.  Service  is 
conducted  every  Sabbath,  generally  by  a  city  missionary.  The 
matron,  Miss  Jane  McClellan,  has  had  charge  of  the  Asylum 
many  years,  and  merits  special  credit  for  the  tidy  and  sys- 
tematic arrangement  of  all  its  departments. 


ORPHAN"  HOME  AND  ASYLUM  OF  THE  PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL 
CHURCH  IN  NEW  YORK. 

pi 

HE  society  having  control  of  this  Institution  was  or 
ganized  in  1851,  its  affairs  being  under  the  direction 
of  a  board  of  trustees  and  managers,  composed  of 
ladies  representing  nearly  every  Episcopal  church  in 
the  city  of  New  York.  There  is,  as  usual,  an  advisory  com- 
mittee of  gentlemen,  to  whom  in  cases  of  difficulty  they 
appeal.  Any  member  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church  may 
become  an  annual  member  by  the  payment  of  three  dollars, 
or  a  life  member  on  the  payment  of  fifty  dollars  at  one  time. 
The  object  of  the  Asylum  is  the  care,  support,  and  religious 
training  of  orphans  and  half-orphans.  Children  are  received 
into  the  Institution  between  the  ages  of  three  and  eight  years 
only,  and  may  be  retained,  the  boys  until  they  are  twelve,  and 
the  girls  until  they  are  fourteen.  Children  taken  without 
charge  must  be  entirely  given  up  to  the  Institution,  otherwise 


306 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


the  sum  of  seventy-five  cents  per  week  is  charged  for  their 
support.  The  committee  on  receiving  and  dismissing  chil- 
dren meets  every  Friday,  to  whom  application  may  be  made  ; 
but  their  by-laws  declare  that  admissions  shall  be  regulated 
invariably  by  the  amount  of  funds  in  hand,  or  by  anticipated 
receipts  that  are  reasonably  certain,  so  that  the  finances  may 
never  be  embarrassed.  Children  are  indentured,  or  adopted 
only  to  married  persons  keeping  house,  members  and  regular 
attendants  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  and  recom- 
mended by  their  pastor.  Girls  are  not  bound  in  families 
where  there  are  apprentices,  and  neither  boys  nor  girls  are 
permitted  to  go  to  a  tavern,  a  boarding-house,  or  where 
liquors  are  sold.  Children  are  taken  from  the  Institution  on 
trial  for  three  months,  when,  if  the  employer  is  dissatisfied, 
he  is  allowed  to  choose  again,  or  if  the  child  has  just  cause 
of  complaint  it  may  be  recalled.  All  indentures  expire  with 
the  eighteenth  year  of  the  child,  and  none  are  allowed  to  go 
so  far  from  the  city  that  some  one  of  the  managers  cannot 
visit  them  annually.  The  Asylum  stands  on  Forty-ninth 
street,  between  Lexington  and  Fourth  avenues,  is  two  stories 
high,  besides  basement  and  attic,  is  in  the  Gothic  order,  and 
has  accommodations  for  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  children. 
In  1868  a  rear  wing,  containing  an  infirmary,  was  added  to 
the  main  building,  at  an  expense  of  $32,000,  which  contrib- 
uted greatly  to  the  safety  of  the  children  and  the  convenience 
of  the  Home.  The  Institution  has,  besides  the  matron  and 
three  female  teachers,  a  nurse  and  six  domestics.  The  chil- 
dren number,  on  an  average,  from  one  hundred  and  forty  to 
one  hundred  and  sixty ;  and  the  Institution  is  supported  at  an 
annual  expense,  exclusive  of  repairs,  of  about  $15,000.  Only 
two  deaths  have  occurred  in  the  Institution  during  the  last 
six  years.  A  religious  school,  similar  to  Sunday  schools,  is 
conducted  iu  the  Institution  every  Friday,  many  young  ladies 
consenting  to  teach  on  that  day,  and  one  of  the  pastors  in  the 
city  devotes  some  time  to  catechising  the  children.  In  1868, 
the  heart  of  the  matron  was  made  glad  in  receiving  the 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  from  one  once  an  orphan  boy 
in  the  Asylum.  It  has  long  been  the  custom  of  the  managers 
to  meet  at  the  Home  every  Friday,  to  cut  and  make  gar- 
ments for  the  children.  Many  friends  of  the  society  have 
gladly  attended  these  meetings,  furnishing  as  they  do  an 
opportunity  to  gratify  that  yearning  desire  in  every  true 
woman's  heart,  to  minister  to  the  helpless  and  suffering. 


PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL  ORPHAN  HOME  AND  ASYLUM.  307 


This  is  the  only  orphan  house  of  the  denomination  in  the  city, 
and  has  completed  its  twenty-second  year  without  receiving 
anything  from  the  city  authorities,  and  but  a  small  amount 
from  the  State.  Its  permanent  fund  from  legacies  is  rapidly 
increasing,  and  now  amounts  to  forty-four  thousand  dollars. 


THE  SHELTERING  ARMS. 


{Manhattanville. ) 

INSTITUTIONS  for  the  relief  of  orphans,  half-orphans, 
the  aged,  siek,  and  blind,  have  greatly  multiplied  in  New 
York  during  the  last  fifty  years ;  yet  a  few  observing  minds 
diseovered  that  there  still  existed  a  large  and  helpless  elass 
in  the  community,  to  whom  no  door  of  generous  hospi- 
tality was  open.  Each  Institution  being  established  for 
the  relief  of  a  single  class,  always  sufficiently  numerous  to 
tax  it  to  its  utmost,  others,  equally  needy  and  worthy,  were 
necessarily  excluded.  The  asylum  for  the  blind,  and  the 
one  for  the  deaf-mute,  received  inmates  at  a  certain  age, 
but  where  were  the  poor  homeless  children  to  spend  their 
earlier  years?  There  were  hospitals  for  sick  and  crippled 
children,  as  long  as  surgeons  pronounced  them  curable,  but 
incurables  could  not  be  admitted.  Some  institutions  received 
half-orphans,  or  poor  children,  free,  on  condition  that  they 
were  surrendered  to  the  institution ;  but  many  parents,  in 
pressing  need  of  temporary  relief,  were  unwilling  to  irrevo- 
cably surrender  their  children.  The  half-orphan  asylum  could 
not  receive  the  children  of  the  father  deserted  by  his  wife,  of 
the  wife  abandoned  by  her  husband,  nor  of  parents  who  were 
both  sick,  in  the  hospital.  These  considerations  led  to  the 
founding  of  the  Sheltering  Anns,  an  institution  which  pro- 
posed to  extend  the  arm  of  relief  and  defence  to  multitudes 
not  hitherto  provided  for.    "When  the  enterprise  was  first  sug- 


THE  SHELTERING  ARMS 


309 


gested,  some  regarded  it  as  a  useless  undertaking,  and  sug- 
gested that  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  children  not  hitherto 
provided  for,  while  others,  more  considerate,  thought  it  too 
vast,  if  not  quite  Utopian.  The  society  having  been  organ- 
ized, the  President,  Rev.  Thos.  M.  Peters,  D.D.,  generously 
offered  his  own  house,  situated  at  the  corner  of  One  Hun- 
dredth street  and  Broadway,  free  of  rent  for  ten  years,  which 
was  opened  on  the  6th  of  October,  1861:,  and  forty  children, 
all  the  building  could  accommodate,  immediately  received. 
The  first  child  received  in  anticipation  of  opening  the  Insti- 
tution, was  a  little  deserted  blind  girl  of  four  or  five  years, 
and  soon  after,  a  helpless  crippled  boy,  unable  to  gain  admit- 
tance into  any  hospital,  because  incurable,  was  received,  and 
after  seventeen  months,  flew  away  to  that  land  where  the 
inhabitants  no  more  say,  "  I  am  sick."  The  operations  of 
the  first  eighteen  months  proved  two  things.  First,  that 
their  accommodations  were  inadequate  to  the  demands  made 
upon  them;  and  secondly,  that  the  genercsity  of  the  public 
would  support  a  larger  family.  In  1866.  another  building 
was  erected  by  the  trustees,  at  an  expense  of  $10,000  ;  the 
number  of  children  increased  to  ninety,  and  the  annual  ex- 
penses of  the  Institution  from  $6,000  to  S11,000.  But  a 
new  difficulty  soon  confronted  them.  The  Boulevard,  in  its 
wide  sweep  up  the  island,  cut  through  their  grounds,  taking 
nine  of  their  twenty-two  lots,  leaving  the  remainder  in  two 
pieces,  and  too  small  for  their  use.  After  examining  several 
pieces  of  property,  the  trustees  purchased  an  acre  of  ground, 
situated  on  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-ninth  street  and  Tenth 
avenue,  in  what  is  called  Manhattanville.  Their  plan  of 
building  is  partly  modeled  after  the  rough  house  of  Wichern, 
near  Hamburg,  on  the  Horn,  i.e.,  to  erect  cottages,  so  that  the 
children  may  be  divided  into  families  of  equal  number ;  but 
the  great  value  of  ground  on  Manhattan  has  compelled 
them  to  unite  several  under  one  roof,  instead  of  scattering 
them  around  the  field  as  at  Hamburg.  Their  new  building 
was  completed,  and  the  children  removed  to  it  on  the  5th  of 
February,  1870.  It  is  a  two-story  brick,  with  basement  and 
attic,  in  the  Gothic  order,  with  slated  French  roof,  and  is  com- 
posed of  five  sections.  The  central  portion,  rising  a  little 
above  the  rest,  is  thirty-six  by  forty- seven  feet,  and  contains 
office,  parlor,  kitchen,  linen  and  work  rooms,  infirmary,  and 
all  necessary  sleeping  apartments  for  adults.  The  two  wings 
are  each  fifty  by  forty  feet ;  each  contains  two  cottages,  with 


31 ) 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


accommodations  for  thirty  children  each,  affording  space  for 
one  hundred  and  twenty  in  all.  Each  cottage  contains  its 
separate  dining-room,  play-room,  wash-room,  and  dormitory. 
An  appeal  was  made  for  $5,000  donations,  the  amount  neces- 
sary to  erect  a  cottage,  the  name  of  the  donor  to  be  given  to 
the  building.  Mrs.  Peter  Cooper  generously  furnished  the 
sum  to  erect  a  cottage  for  girls ;  Mr.  John  D.  Wolfe,  one  for 
boys  ;  another  friend  gave  the  amount  for  the  third,  and  the 
Ladies'  Association  have  undertaken  to  pay  for  the  fourth. 
The  school-house  is  a  separate  building.  The  ground  and 
buildings  have  thus  far  cost  about  $75,000,  and  the  trustees 
purpose  to  duplicate  these  buildings,  as  soon  as  their  finances 
will  admit,  and  increase  the  number  of  inmates  to  about  three 
hundred.  A  small  Episcopal  church  stands  in  the  rear  of  the 
Institution  on  the  adjoining  street,  where  the  children  attend 
service.  The  president  of  the  society  is  an  Episcopal  clergy- 
man ;  representatives  of  other  denominations  are,  however,  in 
its  board  of  management.  Children  are  received  without  re- 
gard to  creed  or  nationality,  and  the  managers  acknowledge 
donations  from  Jews,  Gentiles,  and  all  denominations  of 
Christians*  The  internal  management  of  the  Institution  was, 
from  its  commencement  until  the  spring  of  1870,  committed 
to  the  Sisterhood  of  St.  Mary,  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church.  Six  of  them  took  charge  of  the  four  families  of 
children,  and  found  time  to  write  articles  for  their  monthly 
paper,  conduct  fairs,  collect  subscriptions,  and  attend  to  sun- 
dry other  matters.  Their  habit  strikingly  resembled  that 
worn  by  the  orders  of  the  Romish  faith,  and,  as  they  were  be- 
lieved by  many  to  be  too  closely  allied  to  them  in  many  points 
of  faith  and  practice,  it  was  considered  best  by  the  board  of 
management  to  remove  them  from  the  Institution.  Miss 
Sarah  S.  Richmond,  an  estimable  lady  of  piety  and  culture, 
has  at  present  the  charge  of  its  internal  management,  and  is 
assisted  by  hired  help.  These  lady  managers  are  deserving  of 
great  credit  for  the  sacrifice  and  toil  bestowed  on  these  home- 
less children,  many  of  whom  are  "  rough  casts  of  unculti- 
vated humanity,"  but  are  soon  subdued  by  gentle  treatment 
and  faithful  instruction.  The  Institution -has,  at  this  writing, 
one  hundred  and  thirty-five  children,  ten  of  whom  are  in- 
curable invalids  who  could  gain  access  to  no  other  institution. 

Children  are  received  at  any  age,  from  infancy  to  fourteen 
years,  subject  to  the  call  of  their  parents  or  relatives;  but  if 
left  to  the  managers,  are  retained  until  farther  advanced  in 


THE  SHELTERING  ARMS. 


31i 


years  than  in  most  institutions,  that  their  habits  of  virtue  may 
be  more  thoroughly  confirmed.  In  addition  to  an  English 
education,  they  are  to  be  taught  trades  as  far  as  possible. 
Board  is  charged  of  such  as  are  able  to  pay,  but  all  received 
from  this  source  has  not  exceeded  one-sixth  of  the  current 
expenses  of  the  Institution  in  any  year.  The  State  has  con- 
tributed some  small  sums  to  the  Institution  ;  but  the  city  au- 
thorities, giving  unnumbered  thousands  to  others,  have  not 
been  importuned*  by  the  Sheltering  Arms  to  impose  heavy 
burdens  on  the  public  for  its  support.  Their  president  and 
managers  have  taken  the  wise,  Christian,  and  statesman-like 
view,  that  private  charitable  corporations  should  be  supported 
by  those  especially  interested,  and  that  public  officials  should 
not  be  invoked  to  compulsorily  draw  supplies  from  those 
who  might  disapprove  of  their  principles  or  practices.  All 
honor  to  the  Sheltering  Arms  for  this  most  wholesome 
example,  so  eminently  worthy  of  imitation.  They  have 
wisely  sought,  by  the  dissemination  of  knowledge  relating  to 
their  work,  to  develop  a  charity  in  their  friends,  affording 
abundant  supplies  not  easily  affected  by  the  caprices  of  leg- 
islation. The  undertaking  of  the  society  has  thus  far  proved 
a  magnificent  success. 

*  The  policy  has  been  somewhat;  changed  since  writing  the  Above, 


ROMAN  CATEIOLIC  ORPHAN  ASYLUM,  BOYS1  BUJLDINGS,  FIFTH  AVENUE. 


THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  ORPHAN  ASYLUM. 

( Corner  Mott  and  Prince  streets. ) 

In  April,  1817,  the  "  Roman  Catholic  Benevolent  Society" 
was  incorporated  by  act  of  Legislature,  the  Right  Rev. 
Bishop  Connolly  being  its  first  president. 

The  Institution  for  several  years  consisted  of  poor  wooden 
structures  located  at  what  is  now  Prince  street,  but  was  at 
that  time  far  out  of  the  city.  The  present  edifice,  at  the  cor- 
ner of  Mott  and  Prince  streets,  stands  on  the  original  site,  and 
was  erected  in  1825.  It  is  a  large  four-story  brick,  with 
accommodations  for  three  hundred  and  fifty  children  It 
now  stands  in  the  midst  of  a  dense  population,  and  is  occu- 
pied by  about  two  hundred  of  the  larger  girls,  who  are  em- 
ployed in  needle  and  laundry  work,  and  other  industrial 
pursuits.  These  are  adopted  or  indentured  at  from  fourteen 
to  seventeen  years  of  age.  A  few,  regarded  as  more  than 
ordinarily  brilliant,  are  sent  to  the  academy  in  Forty-second 
street,  where  they  pass  gratuitously  through  a  three  years' 
course  of  instruction.  The  Asylum  has  been  from  the  first 
under  the  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  who  superin- 
tend the  studies  of  the  children,  instruct  the  girls  in  the 


THE  KOMAN  CATHOLIC  ORPHAN  ASYLUM. 


313 


various  industrial  arts,  and  attend  to  all  the  interests  of 
the  household.  In  1 846,  the  Asylum  being  inadequate  to  the 
demands,  the  society  obtained  from  the  Common  Council,  for 
one  dollar  a  year,  a  grant  of  450  feet  of  the  west  end  of  the 
block  lying  between  Fifty-first  and  Fifty-second  streets,  front- 
ing on  Fifth  avenue.  Upon  this  site  was  completed  in  Novem- 
ber, 1851,  a  beautiful  four-story  brick  edifice,  since  known  as 
the  boys'  buildings.  The  building  consists  of  a  central  portion 
sixty  feet  by  thirty,  with  front  and  rear  enclosed  balconies, 
fifteen  feet  wide  on  each  story,  and  of  two  wings  of  the  same 
height.  In  the  rear  of  the  northern  wing  is  a  building  fifty 
by  twenty-five  feet,  used  for  kitchen,  laundry,  etc.  The 
ceilings  are  high,  the  entire  building  well  ventilated  and 
warmed,  and  well  arranged  with  class-rooms,  dormitories, 
chapel,  etc.  In  the  rear  is  a  large  play-ground,  while  the 
grounds  in  front  are  richly  cultivated,  and  profusely  set  with 
choice  shrubbery  and  flowers. 

In  1857,  the  authorities  granted  the  remaining  portion  of 
the  same  block  of  ground,  extending  to  Fourth  avenue,  for 
additional  buildings.  Madison  avenue,  having  since  been 
extended,  forms  at  present  its  western  boundary.  A  plan 
was  now  formed  for  the  erection  of  one  of  the  largest,  and 
finest  orphan  houses  in  the  country,  for  the  reception  and 
training  of  the  smaller  girls.  The  northern  wing,  two  hundred 
feet  in  length  aud  five  stories  high,  was  begun  in  1866,  and 
sufficiently  completed  for  the  reception  of  the  children  on  the 
23d  of  August,  1868.  The  basement  contains  the  kitchen, 
laundry,  heating  appliances  for  the  whole  establishment,  etc. 
The  cooking,  washing,  and  heating  are  performed  with  steam. 
The  first  floor  contains  a  dining-room  of  immense  capacity. 
All  the  additional  stories  of  this  wing  are  to  be  devoted  to 
dormitories,  after  the  other  portions  are  completed.  These 
floors  afford  ample  space  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  single 
beds  each,  and  even  more  could  be  introduced. 

The  high  price  of  building  materials  at  the  time  of  its 
erection,  and  the  purchase  of  the  needed  machinery,  swelled 
the  cost  of  this  first  section  of  the  enterprise  to  nearly  §150,000. 
In  March,  1869,  the  main  edifice  fronting  on  Madison  avenue 
was  begun,  and  completed  in  the  space  of  a  year.  This  con- 
tains the  parlors,  school-rooms,  the  private  apartments,  and 
was  completed  at  a  less  expense  than  the  preceding.  Another 
immense  wing,  the  counterpart  of  the  one  first  erected,  is  soon 
to  follow,  which  will  contain  the  chapel,  infirmary,  and  vari- 


314 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


ous  needed  accommodations.  The  buildings  are  all  five  sto- 
ries above  the  basement,  constructed  with  excellent  taste,  of 
pressed  brick  and  freestone;  in  the  Gothic  order,  with  French 
roof,  and  will  afford  accommodation  for  one  thousand  children. 
This  establishment,  both  for  its  colossal  proportions  and  the 
beauty  of  its  architecture,  greatly  exceeds  the  two  preceding, 
which  had  previously  been  considered  large  and  model  asy- 
lums. About  three  hundred  of  the  smaller  girls,  composed 
of  orphans  and  half-orphans,  are  here  domiciled  at  this 
writing.  A  regular  English  course  of  study  is  taught  on  five 
days  of  the  week,  a  portion  of  Saturday  and  the  Sabbath 
being  devoted  to  the  Roman  catechism,  and  other  exercises 
of  religion. 


NEW  YORK  ASYLUM  FOR  LYING-IN  WOMEN. 
(No.  83  Marion  street. ) 

The  condition  of  many  virtuous  and  worthy  women, 
left  homeless  and  friendless,  in  the  most  critical  period 
of  their  history,  led  several  humane  physicians  and  a  num- 
ber of  excellent  women,  in  1822,  to  organize  a  society  for 
the  purpose  of  establishing  a  lying-in  asylum.  Then,  as 
now,  desertion  from  intemperance,  destitution  arising  from 
long  sickness,  the  unkindness  of  some  husbands,  or  the  lose 
of  a  partner  by  death,  made  such  an  asylum  necessary.  A 
ward  had  been  devoted  to  these  patients  for  twenty  years 
in  the  New  York  Hospital,  but  a  more  private  asylum  was 
considered  desirable.  The  act  of  incorporation  passed  the 
Legislature  March  19,  1827.  The  business  of  the  society  is 
conducted  by  a  board  of  thirty-three  female  managers,  annu- 
ally elected  by  the  society,  which  is  composed  of  such  females 
as  contribute  the  sum  of  §3  per  annum  toward  the  support 
of  the  Institution.  The  work  of  the  society  began  in  some 
rooms  in  Orange  street,  leased  for  $275  per  annum,  where  it 
continued  eight  years.     The  sixth  annual  meeting,  of  the 

19 


316 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


organization  was  held  in  the  lecture-room  of  the  Brick  Church, 
on  the  12th  of  March,  1829,  and  the  report  was  read  by  Dr. 
J ames  C.  Bliss.  In  this  he  stated  that  thirty-four  patients 
had  been  received  during  the  year,  that  their  accommodations 
were  entirely  inadequate  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  class  they 
were  seeking  to  benefit,  and  recommended  the  plan  of  build- 
ing a  suitable  asylum.  Rev.  Dr.  Macauly  and  Dr.  Cock  fol- 
lowed with  addresses,  in  which  they  approved  of  the  plan  of 
erecting  a  new  building.  A  subscription  paper  was  immedi- 
ately prepared,  and  the  sum  of  $550  subscribed  during  the 
day.  Three  lots  were  purchased  far  out  of  the  city,  and  in 
1830  the  Asylum  now  standing  at  No.  85  Marion  street  was 
erected.  The  three  lots  cost  §2,750;  and  the  building,  which 
is  a  substantial  three-story  brick,  forty-five  by  sixty  feet, 
capable  of  accommodating  fifty  patients,  $8,707.  The  Asylum 
has  been  supported  by  private  subscriptions,  with  small  excep- 
tions. In  presenting  their  sixth  report,  in  March,  1829,  the 
managers  gratefully  acknowledged  the  reception  of  $200  from 
the  corporation,  which  is  a  singular  paragraph  to  read  in  these 
days,  when  millions  are  donated  to  similar  charities.  To 
remove  a  debt,  at  a  later  period,  $1,500  were  granted,  and 
during  the  half  century  of  its  operations  about  $7,000  have 
been  received  from  the  city,  and  nothing  from  the  State. 

The  hospitalities  of  the  Asylum  are  given  without  charge 
to  virtuous,  indigent  women  only,  evidence  of  bona  fide  mar- 
riage being  invariably  required. 

The  Institution  was  established  when  foundling  hospitals 
were  not  appreciated  in  this  country,  and  when  many  be- 
lieved such  institutions  calculated  to  encourage  vice.  It  has 
been  the  opinion  of  the  managers  that  to  throw  the  Institution 
open  to  all  who  should  claim  its  assistance  would  unavoid- 
ably very  soon  confine  its  operations  to  the  vicious  alone,  as 
virtuous  married  women  would  not  become  the  associates  and 
fellow-pensioners  of  the  degraded  and  abandoned.  Hence, 
to  make  the  charity  of  value  to  the  most  worthy  class,  for 
which  it  was  chiefly  undertaken,  none  but  the  virtuous  could 
be  received.  But  in  declining  to  receive  those  considered 
improper  subjects,  they  did  not  abandon  them  to  absolute 
destitution,  for  about  the  year  1830  a  system  of  out-door 
charity  was  established.  The  city  was  divided  into  nineteen 
districts,  and  a  physician  appointed  to  each,  who  visited 
gratuitously  by  day  and  night  all  persons  not  admitted  into 
the  Institution,  whenever  application  was  made  at  the  oifice 


NEW  YORK  MAGDALEN  BENEVOLENT  SOCIETY.  317 


in  the  basement  of  the  Asylum.  This  arrangement,  with 
some  modification,  still  continues.  Since  the  opening  of  the 
Asylum,  3,797  inmates  have  been  received,  and  over  13,021 
out-door  patients  have  been  attended  by  the  district  physi- 
cians. The  number  of  applicants  is  not  as  large  as  in  former 
years,  70  only  being  admitted  during  the  last  twelve  months. 

The  Institution  is  the  most  purely  charitable  of  any  on  the 
island,  as  no  board  or  other  fee  is  required ;  yet,  situated  in  a 
retired  nook  at  the  head  of  Marion  street,  though  one  of  the 
oldest,  it  is  really  the  least  known  of  any  in  the  city.  The 
managers,  unwilling  to  be  entirely  supplanted  by  other  insti- 
tutions, are  now  considering  the  propriety  of  removing  the 
Asylum  to  a  better  locality.  The  matron,  Mrs.  Hope,  has 
taken  charge  of  the  Asylum  eighteen  years,  and  proved 
herself  an  intelligent  and  conscientious  Superintendent.  The 
Asylum  has  furnished  hundreds  of  wet  nurses  to  families  in 
need  of  them,  aud  situations  to  hundreds  of  others,  who 
would  otherwise  have  gone  back  to  abodes  of  destitution,  if 
not  to  ruin.  Mrs.  A.  O.  Hall  is  one  of  the  active  managers 
of  the  Institution. 


NEW  YORK  MAGDALEN  BENEVOLENT  SOCIETY. 

{Fifth  avenue  and  Eighty-eighth  street.) 

^  iffN  the  year  1828,  several  Christian  ladies,  representing 
*$m3L  different  religious  denominations,  established  a  Sun- 
scnool m  tne  female  penitentiary  at  Belle  vue  among 
those  committed  for  variouscrimes,  and  others  who 
required  medical  treatment.  Interesting  facts  resulting  from 
these  efforts  were  communicated  to  the  public,  and  such  an 
interest  awakened  in  the  community  that  on  the  first  day  of 
January,  1830,  the  New  York  Magdalen  Society  was  organ- 
ized. 

Two  years  later  the  society  was  for  some  cause  disbanded. 
The  interest  awakened,  however,  did  not  decline,  for  on  the 
extinction  of  the  old  organization  three  new  ones  sprang  up, 
one  in  Laight,  one  in  Spring,  and  one  in  the  Carmine  Street 
Churches.  About  the  same  time  a  society  of  gentlemen  was 
organized,  called  the  "Benevolent  Society  of  the  City  of  New 
York."    In  January,  1833,  these  societies  were  all  again  dis- 


318 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


banded,  and  the  "  New  York  Female  Benevolent  Society"  was 
organized,  its  officers  and  members  being  largely  composed 
of  persons  who  had  given  inspiration  to  the  earlier  organiza- 
tions. Subsequently  the  term  "  Female "  was  stricken  out, 
and  "  Magdalen  "  inserted.  The  object  of  the  society  is  the 
promotion  of  moral  purity,  by  affording  an  asylum  to  erring 
females,  who  manifest  a  desire  to  return  to  the  paths  of  virtue, 
and  by  procuring  employment  for  their  future  support.  This 
society  issued  its  first  report  in  January,  1834,  and  among  its 
list  of  members  stands  the  name  of  Mrs.  Thomas  Hastings, 
whose  life  has  been  largely  devoted  to  the  success  of  this  enter- 
prise, and  who,  in  this,  the  thirty-ninth  year  of  its  operation,  is 
its  first  directress.  The  present  society  began  its  benevolent 
work  in  a  hired  upper  floor  in  Carmine  street,  near  Bleecker. 
The  inmates  did  not  exceed  ten  in  number  at  any  time  pre- 
vious to  1836.  The  society  early  arranged  for  the  permanent 
establishment  of  the  Institution,  and  a  plot  of  ground,  contain- 
ing twelve  city  lots  and  an  old  frame  building,  was  purchased 
at  Eighty-eighth  street  and  Fifth  avenue,  for  the  sum  of 
$4,000.  This  location  thirty  years  ago  was  far  removed  from 
the  city,  but  is  now  becoming  a  very  attractive  part  of  it,  and 
its  streets  will  soon  be  lined  with  costly  palaces.  After  occu- 
pying the  old  wooden  building  nearly  twenty  years,  the  enter- 
prising managers  (all  ladies)  resolved  to  erect  a  new  building, 
though  at  that  meeting  there  was  not  a  dollar  in  the  treasury 
to  defray  the  expenditures  of  such  an  undertaking. 

Trusting  in  the  overruling  providence  of  Him  who  had 
hitherto  directed  their  efforts,  they  arranged  their  plan,  and 
erected  a  fine  three-story  brick  edifice,  the  means  being  pro- 
vided from  time  to  time  by  the  generous  public,  to  which 
they  have  never  appealed  in  vain.  Additions  have  since  been 
made,  and  the  buildings,  which  can  now  accommodate  nearly 
a  hundred  inmates,  have  cost  over  thirty  thousand  dollars. 
Property  has  so  appreciated  in  this  locality  that  the  Asylum 
and  its  six  remaining  lots  are  valued  at  near  $100,000.  The 
yard  fronting  on  Eighty-eighth  street  has  a  high  brick  wall, 
the  other  parts  of  the  ground  being  enclosed  with  a  strong 
board  fence.  The  first  floor  of  the  Asylum  contains  rooms  for 
the  matron  and  assistant  matron,  a  parlor,  a  large  work-room, 
and  a  neat  chapel,  with  an  organ  and  seating  for  a  hundred 
persons.  The  two  upper  stories  contain  the  sleeping  apart- 
ments. The  girls  are  not  locked  in  their  own  private  apart- 
ments, as  in  the  Steenbeck  Asylum  of  Pastor  Ileldring,  in 


NEW  YOKK  MAGDALEN  BENEVOLENT  SOCIETY.  319 


Holland ;  but  the  door  leading  from  each  floor  is  locked  every 
night,  and  it  would  perhaps  be  an  advantage  if  noisy  and 
mischievous  ones  were  always  compelled  to  spend  the  night 
in  their  own  apartments.  Girls  are  taken  at  from  ten  to 
thirty  years  of  age,  and  remain  a  longer  or  shorter  period, 
according  to  circumstances.  JSTone  are  detained  against  their 
will,  unless  consigned  to  the  Asylum  by  their  parents  or  the 
magistrates.  A  Bible-reader  visits  the  Tombs  and  other 
prisons,  and  encourages  young  women  who  express  a  desire  to 
reform  to  enter  the  Asylum.  Most  of  them  have  been  ruined 
by  intemperance,  or  want  of  early  culture.  The  most  hope- 
less among  fallen  women  are  those  who  have  lived  as  mis- 
tresses. Many  of  these  have  spent  years  in  idleness,  affluence, 
and  fashion,  holding  for  their  own  convenience  the  threat  of 
exposure  over  the  heads  of  their  guilty  paramours,  and  have  thus 
developed  all  the  worst  traits  of  fallen  humanity.  Not  a  few 
of  these  have  been  thoroughly  restored  to  a  virtuous  life  by 
this  society.  Industry  is  one  of  the  first  lessons  of  the  Asy- 
lum, without  which  there  can  be  no  abiding  reformation.  A 
pure  literature  is  afforded,  with  the  assistance  of  an  instructor, 
for  those  whose  education  has  been  neglected.  When  the 
inmate  gives  evidence  that  true  womanhood  is  really  return- 
ing, a  situation  is  procured  for  her  in  a  Christian  family  in 
the  city  or  country,  the  managers  greatly  preferring  the 
latter.  The  chaplain,  Rev.  Charles  C.  Darling,  has  been 
connected  with  the  Institution  over  thirty  years,  and  has  re- 

i'oiced  over  the  hopeful  conversion  of  many  of  its  inmates. 
Svery  Sabbath  morning  the  family  assembles  for  preaching, 
a  Bible  class  is  conducted  by  the  chaplain  in  the  afternoon, 
and  again  on  Thursday  afternoon,  unless  there  is  unusual 
religious  interest  among  the  inmates,  when  the  service  is  de- 
voted to  preaching,  exhortation,  and  prayer.  The  inmates 
often  weep  convulsively  under  the  appeals  of  truth ;  a  score 
at  times  rise  or  kneel  for  prayer,  at  a  single  service.  With 
some,  it  is  deep  and  lasting,  but  with  others  it  passes  away 
like  the  morning  cloud.  At  times,  they  hold  prayer-meetings 
among  themselves,  with  good  results,  and  on  other  occasions 
their  assemblies  are  broken  up  with  bickerings  and  conten- 
tions. Many  of  them  are  talented  and  well  favored,  formed 
for  more  than  an  ordinary  sphere  in  human  life.  They  have 
recently  formed  themselves  into  a  benevolent  society,  desig- 
nated "  The  Willing  Hearts,"  and  have  sent  several  remit- 
tances of  clothing  to  a  devoted  missionary  in  Michigan.  Tho 


320 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


matron,  Mrs.  Ireland,  an  esteemed  Christian  lady,  has  pre- 
sided for  years  with  great  skill  over  the  Institution.  This  is 
the  pioneer  asylum  of  its  kind  in  New  York  ;  the  numerous 
similar  societies  now  in  operation  have  grown  up  through  its 
example,  and  many  of  their  managers  were  once  associated 
with  the  Magdalen  Society.  The  society  has  nobly  breasted 
the  tide  of  early  prejudice,  and  conquered  it.  It  has  met 
with  discouragements,  as  might  have  been  expected,  in  every 
phase  of  its  history,  yet  these  have  been  of  the  kind  that  add 
momentum  to  the  general  movement,  and  make  success  the 
more  triumphant. 

The  statistics  presented  at  its  thirty-eighth  anniversary  are 
more  than  ordinarily  interesting.  During  that  year,  188 
had  been  in  the  Institution,  with  an  average  family  of  nearly 
fifty.  It  was  also  stated  that  during  the  last  thirty-five  years 
2,000  inmates  had  been  registered,  000  of  whom  had  been 
placed  in  private  families,  400  returned  to  relatives,  400  had 
left  the  Asylum  at  their  own  request,  300,  weary  of  restraint, 
had  left  without  permission,  100  had  been  expelled,  300  had 
been  temporarily  transferred  to  the  hospitals,  24  had  been 
known  to  unite  with  evangelical  churches,  20  had  been  legally 
married,  and  41  had  died.  More  than  six  thousand  religious 
services  had  been  held.  But  figures  cannot  express  the 
amount  of  good  done.  Every  fallen  woman,  while  at  large, 
is  a  firebrand  inflaming  others ;  an  enemy  sowing  tares  in 
the  great  field  of  the  world.  Her  recovery  is,  therefore,  not 
only  a  source  of  good  to  herself  but  of  prevention  to  others. 

The  Asylum  is  maintained  at  an  expense  of  about  eight 
thousand  dollars  per  annum.  A  permanent  fund  is  being 
raised  for  the  support  of  the  chaplaincy. 


SOCIETY  FOE  THE  BELIEF  OF  HALF-ORPHANS.  321 


SOCIETY  FOR  THE  RELIEF  OF  HALF-ORPHANS  AND  DESTITUTE 

CHILDREN. 

{No.  67  West  Tenth  street.)  ' 


children  have  always  been  considered  suit- 
able objects  of  compassion  and  aid ;  hence,  asylums 
for  their  protection  and  instruction  have  throughout 
modern  times  been  favorite  establishments  of  the 
benevolent.  In  many  cases  the  condition  of  the  half-orphan 
is  quite  as  pitiable  as  the  orphan,  and  has  an  equal  claim  on 
our  charity.  Its  mother  may  have  been  left  in  great  destitu- 
tion or  debility,  or  the  father,  the  only  surviving  parent,  may 
be  insane  or  crippled.  Many  children  whose  parents  are  still 
living,  but  dissipated  and  reckless,  are  as  badly  off  as  either 
class  before  mentioned.  No  institution  in  New  York  opened 
its  doors  for  the  reception  of  half -orphans  until  January  14, 
1836.  An  affecting  circumstance  led  to  the  founding  of  this 
charity.  A  young  widow  of  Protestant  sentiments,  unable  to 
take  her  two  children  with  her  to  her  place  of  service,  con- 
signed them  to  a  Roman  Catholic  asylum,  and  for  a  time  paid 
all  her  earnings  for  their  board.  Unwilling  to  have  them 
trained  in  a  Romish  institution,  and  unable  to  provide  for 
herself  and  them  in  the  city,  she  took  them  from  the  asylum 
and  went  into  the  country.  The  lady  with  whom  she  had 
lived  was  Mrs.  William  A.  Tomlinson,  and  the  courageous 
departure  of  her  excellent  servant,  from  whom  she  never 
afterwards  heard,  produced  a  deep  and  salutary  impression 
on  her  thoughtful  and  pious  mind.  The  relation  of  the  story 
to  several  benevolent  ladies  excited  sympathy,  and  on  the 
16th  of  December,  1835,  seven  of  them  assembled  to  mature 
a  plan  for  organizing  a  society.  On  the  same  night  the  most 
disastrous  hre  ever  known  in  the  city  occurred.  The  First 
Ward,  east  of  Broadway  and  about  Wall  street,  was  almost 
entirely  destroyed.  The  Merchants'  Exchange  and  six  hundred 
and  forty-eight  of  the  most  valuable  stores  in  the  city,  and 
considerable  church  property,  were  consumed,  inflicting  a  loss 
upon  the  community,  besides  the  suspension  of  business,  of 
$18,000,000.  The  society  faltered  amid  these  forbidding  sur- 
roundings, but  soon  rallied,  collected  a  little  money,  and  began 
its  operations.    On  the  fourteenth  day  of  January,  1836,  a 


322 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


basement  having  been  hired  in  Whitehall  street,  the  directors 
threw  open  their  door,  and  announced  themselves  ready  to 
admit  twenty  children,  and  four  were  at  once  received.  The 
conditions  of  acceptance  were  these :  1.  The  death  of  one 
parent.  2.  Freedom  from  contagious  disease.  3.  A  promise 
from  the  parent  to  pay  fifty  cents  per  week  for  board,  unless 
satisfactory  reasons  were  given  why  it  should  not  be  required. 
4.  No  child  received  under  four  nor  over  ten  years  of  age. 
The  apartments  being  wholly  unsuited,  a  house  in  Twelfth 
street  was  taken  and  the  children  removed  to  it  in  May,  1836, 
and  at  the  end  of  the  first  year  74  had  been  received.  The 
entire  expense  of  the  first  year,  including  rent,  furniture, 
salaries,  medicine,  one  funeral,  and  all  other  household  requis- 
ites, amounted  to  $2,759.06.  At  the  close  of  the  second  year 
114  had  been  received.  The  act  of  incorporation  passed  the 
Legislature  April  27, 1837,  vesting  the  corporate  powers  of  the 
society  in  a  self  perpetuating  board  of  nine  male  trustees,  who 
were  empowered  to  receive  bequests,  and  hold  property  to 
any  amount,  the  annual  income  of  which  should  not  exceed 
fifty  dollars  for  every  child  received  ;  and  the  appropriation 
of  the  income  and  the  internal  and  domestic  management  of 
the  Institution  were  committed  to  a  board  of  female  managers, 
consisting  of  a  first  and  a  second  directress,  a  secretary,  a 
treasurer,  and  twenty-six  others,  residing  at  the  time  of  their 
election  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

The  board  is  also  vested  with  power  to  bind  out,  to  proper 
persons,  children  who  have  been  surrendered  to  the  Institu- 
tion, and  all  those  not  known  to  have  friends  in  the  State 
legally  authorized  to  make  such  surrender.  The  children  are 
not  kept  after  they  reach  their  fourteenth  year,  all  being 
either  returned  to  their  parents  or  sent  out  to  service.  Their 
food  is  simple,  abundant,  and  nutritious,  and  though  small- 
pox, measles,  scarlet  fever,  diphtheria,  whooping-cough,  and 
all  the  other  disease's  common  to  children,  have  occasion- 
ally crept  into  the  Institution,  but  very  few  have  died.  Many 
of  them  have  been  vulgar  and  intractable  at  their  entrance, 
but  have  soon  yielded  to  wholesome  discipline  and  example.  In 
May,  1837,  the  family  wras  removed  to  the  Nicholson  House, 
then  No.  3  West  Tenth  street,  which  had  been  purchased  by 
one  of  the  trustees,  and  was  sold  to  the  society  the  following 
year.  This  building  furnished  accommodations  for  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  children,  and  was  soon  filled.  During  the 
summer  of  1840  a  house  was  rented  in  Morristown,  New 


SOCIETY  FOR  THE  BELIEF  OF  HALF-OKPHAftB.  323 

Jersey,  and  47  of  the  children  taken  there  to  spend  the  hot 
season.  In  1840,  the  society,  having  received  several  liberal 
donations,  purchased  some  valuable  lots  on  Sixth  avenue, 
where  a  three-story  brick  edifice  sixty-four  feet  wide  was 
erected,  the  cost  of  all  but  a  little  exceeding  $20,000.  In 
May,  1841,  the  children  were  removed  to  it,  and  the  number 
again  much  increased,  some  of  the  younger  ones  remaining 
in  a  part  of  the  wood  building  on  Tenth  street,  called  at 
that  time  "  the  Nursery."  This  new  building  on  Sixth  ave- 
nue was  occupied  for  sixteen  years,  though  never  equal  to 
the  demands,  and  after  much  discussion  about  removing  the 
Institution  out  of  the  city,  and  other  schemes  for  enlargement, 
more  lots  were  finally  secured  adjoining  those  on  Tenth  street, 
the  present  building  erected,  and  the  children  removed  to  it 
amid  the  financial  panic  in  the  fall  of  1857.  The  edifice  is 
substantially  constructed  of  brick  trimmed  with  brown  stone, 
is  four  stories  above  the  basement,  has  a  front  of  ninety-five 
feet,  and  cost,  exclusive  of  grounds,  over  $37,000.  The  base- 
ment contains,  besides  wash-room  and  laundry,  a  fine  play- 
room ;  the  first  floor,  a  kitchen,  dining-room,  parlor,  and  rooms 
for  the  matron.  The  second  floor  is  devoted  to  school-rooms, 
the  third  contains  dormitories  for  the  girls,  and  the  fourth  the 
dormitories  for  boys,  and  an  infirmary.  The  society  has  dis- 
charged all  its  indebtedness,  converted  its  buildings  on  Sixth 
avenue  into  stores  which  bring  a  fine  income,  and  now  ranks 
among  the  most  successful  and  best-established  institutions 
of  New  York. 

Since  its  organization,  three  thousand  &  two  hundred  half- 
orphan  children  have  been  admitted  to  share  its  advantages, 
between  two  hundred  and  three  hundred  being  the  average 
number  for  several  years  past.  All  are  instructed  in  the  rud- 
iments of  English  learning,  under  the  inspection  of  the  Board 
of  Education,  and  the  usual  percentage  of  the  school  fund 
and  the  State  orphan  fund  are  paid  to  the  Institution.  Public 
prayers  are  offered  with  the  children  every  morning  and  even- 
ing ;  a  fine  Sabbath-school  is  conducted  in  the  building,  and 
all  attend  church.  Early  rising,  industrious  habits,  great 
cleanliness,  intellectual,  moral,  and  religious  instruction,  are 
the  chief  characteristics  of  the  Asylum.  The  Institution  is 
Protestant,  but  not  denominational.  Mrs.  Tomlinson,  its  chief 
foundress  and  promoter,  continued  its  first  director  for  twenty- 
seven  years,  and  died  in  1862.  During  the  year  1869  the 
only  remaining  one  of  the  seven  who  first  organized  the  soci- 


324: 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


ety,  Mrs.  James  Boorcnan,  was  also  called  to  her  reward.  In 
May,  1870,  Miss  Mary  Brasher,  who  had  held  a  place  of  use- 
fulness in  the  board  for  more  than  twenty  years,  was  also  dis- 
charged by  the  great  Master. 

The  toils  of  these  worthy  ladies  have  sometimes  appeared 
thankless.  They  have  ever  sought  to  strengthen  the  bond  be- 
tween the  parent  and  the  child,  by  insisting  on  a  small  pay- 
ment for  weekly  board  whenever  possible,  and  thus  have 
wisely  prevented  many  parents  from  drowning  their  natural 
affection  in  idleness  and  dissipation.  Yet  their  good  works 
have  not  saved  them  from  being  occasionally  covered  with 
abuse  by  the  dissolute  and  ungrateful.  Numbers  of  the  chil- 
dren, however,  have  given  evidence  of  genuine  conversion 
while  in  the  Institution,  and  many  more  after  having  gone  to 
live  in  Christian  families  in  the  country.  Some  who  had  not 
been  heard  from  for  years,  when  converted,  have  taken  the 
earliest  opportunity  to  write  to  the  managers,  breathing  grate- 
ful emotion  for  those  who  had  picked  them  from  haunts  of 
penury  or  dissipation,  planted  in  their  tender  minds  the 
seeds  of  truth,  which  were  now  developing  into  a  holy  life. 
Surely,  He  that  went  about  doing  good,  and  who  took  children 
in  His  arms,  and  blessed  them,  will  not  be  unmindful  of  these 
toils,  but  in  the  day  of  final  reckoning  will  say,  "  Inasmuch 
as  ye  have  done  it  unto  the  least  of  these,  ye  have  done  it 
unto  me.v 


LEAKE  AND  WATTS  ORPHAN  HOUSE. 


(  West  One  Hundred  and  Tenth  street.) 

Many  years  ago,  two  young  men  were  engaged  in  the  study 
of  law  in  the  office  of  Judge  James  Duane,  one  of  the  early 
celebrities  of  the  New  York  bar.  Their  ambitious  and  thor- 
ough bearing  gave  promise  of  more  than  ordinary  success,  to 
which  they  both  ultimately  attained.  One  was  known  as 
John  George  Leake,  the  other  as  John  Watts.  Mr.  Leake  in- 
herited a  considerable  estate  from  his  father,  and  a  long  career 
as  a  legal  adviser  and  a  prudent  business  man,  brought  him 
at  last  to  the  possession  of  great  wealth.  He  had  no  children  ; 
and,  after  making  a  fruitless  search  through  England  and 
Scotland  for  some  remaining  kindred,  he  experienced  the  un- 
enviable sadness  of  knowing  that  he  was  the  last  of  his  race ; 
that,  among  all  the  scattered  millions  of  earth,  not  one  existed 
who  was  bound  to  him  by  ties  of  consanguinity.  His  later 
years  were  passed  in  comparative  retirement  in  his  own  house 
at  No.  32  Park  row,  visited  and  known  only  by  several  acquaint- 
ances of  his  earlier  years,  among  whom  was  Mr.  John 
Watts.  Mr.  Leake  desired  to  perpetuate  his  family  name  in 
New  York,  and  after  his  death,  which  occurred  June  2d,  1827, 


326 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


his  will  disclosed  the  fact  that  he  had  selected  Robert  Watts, 
the  second  son  of  his  old  friend,  to  inherit  his  estate,  on  con- 
dition that  he  and  his  descendants  should  take  and  forever 
bear  the  surname  of  Leake ;  but,  in  case  of  his  refusal  to  ac- 
cept it  on  these  conditions,  or  of  his  decease  during  his  min- 
ority without  lawful  issue,  then  the  entire  estate  was  to  be  de- 
voted to  an  orphan  house,  of  which  he  furnished  the  design, 
and  appointed  the  seven  ex-officio  trustees.  The  last  will  aud 
testament  of  Mr.  Leake  was  found  among  his  papers  in  his 
own  handwriting,  finely  executed,  with  his  full  name  at  its 
commencement,  but,  unfortunately,  he  had  neglected  to  add 
his  signature  at  its  close,  and  to  secure  the  proper  witnesses. 
He  named  four  executors,  only  two  of  whom,  however,  Her- 
mon  LeRoy,  and  his  old  friend,  John  Watts,  survived  him. 
The  surrogate  of  the  county  refused  to  admit  the  will  to  pro- 
bate, on  account  of  its  imperfect  execution,  and  a  long  and 
expensive  litigation  ensued.  The  authorities  of  New  York 
claimed  that  Mr.  Leake  died  intestate,  and  that  his  property 
fell  to  the  city ;  but  after  a  series  of  ably  contested  suits,  in 
which  thirty  thousand  dollars  of  his  savings  were  squandered, 
the  highest  judicatory  decreed  that  the  instrument  was  a  valid 
testamentary  document  so  far  as  his  personal  property  was 
concerned,  but  that  the  landed  estate,  valued  at  seventy  or 
eighty  thousand  dollars,  escheated  to  the  State. 

Up  to  the  period  of  this  final  decision,  which  occurred 
about  the  close  of  1829,  it  was  not  known  whether  or  not 
Robert  would  comply  with  the  conditions,  and  receive  the  es- 
tate, which  still  amounted  to  about  four  hundred  thousand 
dollars.  He  had  waited  quietly  for  the  close  of  the  litigation, 
and  then  decided  to  accept  it.  Application  was  made  to  the 
Legislature  for  the  enabling  act,  but  ere  its  passage  he  died 
suddenly,  to  the  great  disappointment  of  his  friends,  leaving 
all  his  possessions  to  his  father. 

Mr.  John  Watts,  who  was  also  very  wealthy,  being  now  far 
advanced  in  years,  and  having  no  surviving  sons,  took  a  most 
sensible  view  of  the  situation,  and  immediately  proceeded  to 
carry  out  the  design  of  his  departed  friend,  namely,  to  estab- 
lish the  Orphan  House.  On  the  7th  of  March,  1831,  an  act 
passed  the  Legislature  incorporating  the  Leake  and  Watts 
Orphan  Ilouse  in  the  city  of  New  York.  The  testator  wisely 
directed  that  the  Orphan  Ilouse  should  be  erected  from  the 
income  of  the  estate,  so  as  to  preserve  the  capital  for  a  per- 
manent endowment ;   consequently,  the  structure  was  not 


LEAKE  AND  WATTS  ORPHAN  HOUSE. 


327 


commenced  for  several  years.  A  plot  of  twenty  acres  of 
ground  was  selected  at  Bloomingdale,  One  Hundred  and 
Tenth  street,  and  on  the  28th  of  April,  1838,  the  corner-stone 
of  the  building  was  laid  in  the  presence  of  a  large  audience, 
several  distinguished  clergymen  of  New  York  taking  part  in 
the  exercises.  The  edifice,  completed  November  1843, 
consists  of  a  large  central  building  and  two  wings  ;  the 
front  entrance  is  reached  by  a  broad  flight  of  sixteen  granite 
steps,  while  the  porticos,  front  and  rear,  are  supported  by  six 
immense  Ionic  columns.  The  basement  is  of  granite,  the 
three  succeeding  stories  of  brick,  well  appropriated  to  school- 
rooms, dormitories,  play-rooms,  and  all  other  needed  apart- 
ments, capable  of  accommodating  three  hundred  children, 
though  the  income  from  the  endowment  is  not  sufficient  for 
eo  large  a  family.  The  eastern  wing  is  devoted  to  the  boys, 
the  western  to  the  girls  ;  each  story  is  provided  with  a  wide 
veranda,  skirted  with  a  high,  massive  balustrade,  and  fur- 
nished with  an  outside  stairway,  affording  excellent  facilities 
for  escape  in  case  of  fire.  A  one-story  building  in  the  rear, 
connected  with  the  main  building  by  a  covered  passage-way, 
has  recently  been  added,  and  is  used  as  the  kitchen  and 
dining-room.  The  schools  are  well  conducted.  The  children 
are  all  dressed  alike ;  are  well  taught  in  the  principles  of 
Protestant  Christianity,  and  appear  healthy  and  happy. 
Since  the  opening  of  the  Institution,  over  one  thousand 
orphan  children  have  here  found  a  happy  home,  the  average 
number  at  present  being  about  one  hundred  and  twenty,  and 
are  supported  at  an  annual  expense  of  about  $26,000.  The 
cost  per  child  has  more  than  doubled  during  the  last  fifteen 
years.  The  original  cost  of  the  land  and  buildings  was  about 
$80,000,  which  has  so  wonderfully  increased  in  value  that  the 
trustees  have  recently  sold  four  acres  for  $130,000.  The 
excellent  Superintendent,  Mr.  W.  II.  Guest,  has  spent  his 
whole  life  in  public  institutions.  He  was  twenty  years  con- 
nected with  the  nursery  departmont  of  our  city  charities,  and 
has  now  closed  his  eighteenth  year  in  the  Orphan  House. 


i 


NEW  YORK  JUVENILE  ASYLUM. 


(One  Hundred  and  Seventy-sixth  street.) 

Every  great  city  contains  a  large  floating  population, 
whose  indolence,  prodigality,  and  intemperance  are  pro- 
verbial, culminating  in  great  domestic  and  social  evil.  From 
these  discordant  circles  spring  an  army  of  neglected  or 
ill-trained  children,  devoted  to  vagrancy  and  crime,  who 
early  find  their  way  into  the  almshouse  or  the  prison,  and 
continue  a  life-long  burden  upon  the  community.  It  be- 
comes the  duty  of  the  guardians  of  the  public  weal  to  search 
out  methods  for  the  relief  of  society  from  these  intolerable 
burdens,  and  the  recovery  of  the  wayward  as  far  as  possible. 
That  a  necessity  existed  for  the  establishment  of  this  Insti- 
tution, appears  from  the  fact  that  two  companies  of  distin- 
guished philanthropists,  in  ignorance  of  each  other,  arose  in 
the  autumn  of  1849,  to  inaugurate  some  movement  for  the 
suppression  of  juvenile  crime.  Each  company  applying  to 
the  Mayor,  they  were  happily  united,  and  after  careful  dis- 
cussion, and  repeated  appeals  to  the  Legislature,  the  New- 
York  Juvenile  Asylum  was  incorporated  June  30,  1851,  with 
twenty-four  managers,  the  Mayor,  the  Presidents  of  the 


NEW  YORK  JUVENILE  ASYLUM. 


329 


Board  of  Aldermen  and  Assistants,  and  some  other  officials, 
being  ex-officio  members  of  its  board.  After  the  failure  of 
their  first  application  to  the  Legislature  for  a  charter,  in  1850, 
a  number  of  Christian  ladies  formed  an  association,  and 
opened  an  "  Asylum  for  Friendless  Boys,"  in  a  hired  build- 
ing, jSTo.  109  Bank  street.  They  entered  this  inviting  field 
with  considerable  enthusiasm,  and  toiled  with  marked  suc- 
cess until  the  chartering  of  the  society,  when  they  volun- 
tarily transferred  their  charge,  consisting  of  fifty-seven  boys, 
to  the  managers  of  the  new  Institution.  The  charter  made 
it  obligatory  upon  the  board  that  the  sum  of  $50,000  should 
be  obtained  from  voluntary  subscriptions,  before  it  should  be 
entitled  to  ask  from  the  city  authorities  for  a  similar  sum,  or 
to  call  upon  them  to  support  its  pupils.  The  board  was  per- 
manently organized  November  14,  1851,  and  so  vigorous 
were  the  exertions  of  its  members,  that,  by  the  following 
October,  the  required  $50,000  were  pledged,  and  an  appeal 
to  the  supervisors  was  responded  to  one  month  later  with  a 
similar  sum,  thus  securing  $100,000  for  a  permanent  loca- 
tion and  buildings.  After  taking  possession  of  the  building 
in  Bank  street,  a  House  of  Reception  was,  at  the  beginning 
of  1853,  opened  on  the  same  premises,  and  soon  after  a 
building  at  the  foot  of  Fifty-fifth  street,  East  river,  was 
leased,  to  be  occupied  temporarily  as  an  Asylum.  During 
the  year  626  children  were  received,  and  during  1854  no 
less  than  1,051  were  admitted,  making  a  permanent  family 
of-two  hundred.  The  buildings  being  uncomfortably  crowded 
and  illy  adjusted  for  such  an  enterprise,  the  Institution  se- 
riously suffered  in  all  its  branches.  After  much  difficulty 
the  board  selected  and  purchased  twenty-five  acres  of  rocky 
land  at  One  Hundred  and  Seventy-sixth  street,  near  the  High 
Bridge,  where  very  commodious  buildings  were  erected  of 
stone  quarried  from  the  premises,  and  made  ready  for  occupa- 
tion in  April,  1856,  with  accommodation  for  five  hundred 
children.  The  buildings  have  been  several  times  enlarged, 
and  now  consist  of  a  central  five- story,  skirted  by  two 
vast  wings  of  four  stories  each,  supplemented  with  rear 
extensions,  and  appropriate  outbuildings  for  shops,  play,  etc. 
A  three-story  brick,  one  hundred  and  eight  by  forty-two  feet, 
has  just  been  erected  to  supply  some  needed  class-rooms, 
a  better  gymnasium,  a  swimming  bath,  and  the  appropriate 
industrial  departments.  The  cost  of  these  buildings  has  ex- 
ceeded $140,000.   They  stand  on  a  lofty  eminence,  two  points 

20 


330 


NEW  YOKK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


only  on  the  island  being  higher,  surrounded  with  cultivated 
gardens,  finely-arranged  gravel  walks  and  carriage-ways,  and 
with  play-grounds  covered  with  asphaltum,  and  shaded  with 
trees  of  rare  growth.  A  large  platform,  with  seats,  has  been 
erected  on  the  central  roof  of  the  main  Asylum,  affording 
visitors  an  extended  view  of  the  enchanting  scenery  of  Fort 
Washington  and  the  High  Bridge.  The  location  in  summer 
is  one  of  the  choicest  in  the  world,  though  somewhat  bleak 
in  winter. 

The  children  who  come  under  the  care  of  the  society  are 
between  the  ages  of  five  and  fourteen,  and  may  for  the  sake 
of  brevity  be  divided  into  two  general  classes.  First,  the 
truant  and  disobedient ;  secondly,  the  friendless  and  neg- 
lected. The  first  are  either  voluntarily  surrendered  by  their 
parents  for  discipline,  or  committed  by  the  magistrates  for 
reformation.  The  second  class  found  in  a  state  of  friendless- 
ness  and  want,  or  of  abandonment,  or  vagrancy,  may  be  com- 
mitted by  the  mayor,  recorder,  any  alderman  or  magistrate  of 
the  city.  The  charter  requires  that,  when  such  commitment 
shall  have  been  made,  a  notice  shall  be  forthwith  served  on 
the  parent,  if  any  can  be  found,  and  that  the  child  shall 
be  retained  twenty  days  at  the  House  of  Reception,  during 
which  period,  if  satisfactory  assurances  or  securities  for  the 
training  of  the  child  be  given,  the  magistrate  may  revoke  the 
commitment ;  but  if  not,  it  becomes  the  ward  of  the  managers 
of  the  Asylum,  who  may  indenture  the  same  at  discretion  to 
a  suitable  person. 

The  House  of  Reception,  No.  61  West  Sixteenth  street,  is 
a  broad,  well-arranged,  four-story  brick  edifice,  with  iron 
stairways,  first  occupied  in  1859,  and  cost,  including  ground, 
$40,000.  It  accommodates  comfortably  one  hundred  and 
thirty  children,  and  is  always  filled,  as  most  remain  here  four 
or  five  wTeeks  before  they  are  sent  to  the  Asylum.  The 
first  great  lesson  inculcated  after  admission  is  cleanliness, 
without  which  there  cannot  be  self-respect,  laudable  ambition, 
or  godliness.  The  child  is  stripped  of  its  filthy  garments, 
taken  by  a  kind  woman  to  a  vast  bathing  tub,  supplied  with 
jets  of  hot  and  cold  water,  and  thoroughly  scrubbed,  after 
whidi  it  is  clothed  with  a  new  clean  suit,  retained  alone  until 
pronounced  by  the  physician  free  from  infectious  disease, 
after  which  it  is  assigned  to  its  appropriate  class,  and  enters 
upon  the  study  and  discipline  of  the  Institution.    Bathing  is 


NEW  YORK  JUVENILE  ASYLUM* 


331 


continued  regularly  twice  a  week  during  the  year,  ample 
facilities  being  provided  in  both  Houses. 

The  schools,  long  under  the  able  Principalship  of  James  S. 
Appley,  Esq.,  are  conducted  by  graduates  selected  for  their 
skill  in  discipline,  and  the  children  make  rapid  progress  in 
study  while  they  remain  in  the  Institution.  The  libraries  of 
the  Asylum  contain  nearly  two  thousand  volumes.  Fifty  of 
the  boys  are  at  present  instructed  and  employed  in  the  tailor 
shop ;  thirty  in  the  shoe  shop,  fifteen  at  a  time ;  others  toil 
in  the  gardens,  supplying  all  the  vegetables  for  the  family  ; 
while  others  are  made  useful  in  cleaning  halls,  washing  veg- 
etables, sweeping  yards,  making  the  beds  in  the  dormitories, 
etc.  Hours  are  set  apart  for  family  and  public  religious  in- 
struction and  worship,  for  lectures,  instruction  in  music, 
temperance  meetings,  and  other  opportunities  of  culture. 
The  children  retire  at  a  quarter  before  eight  in  summer,  and 
at  seven  in  winter,  and  are  required  to  rise  with  the  sun  or 
before  it.  Nine  or  ten  hours  are  thus  given  for  uninterrupted 
sleep.  The  managers  secured  for  a  number  of  years  for  their 
Superintendent  the  services  of  Dr.  S.  D.  Brooks,  an  educated 
physician  and  a  gentleman  of  fine  administrative  talent, 
coupled  with  a  long  experience  in  training  truant  children. 
He  has  recently  connected  himself  with  the  "  New  York  In- 
stitution for  the  Instruction  of  the  Deaf  and  Dumb,"  and  his 
place  in  the  Asylum  has  been  filled  by  Mr.  E.  M.  Carpenter, 
late  of  the  House  of  Refuge,  at  Rochester,  New  York, 
another  gentleman  of  large  and  successful  experience. 

The  sanitary  interests  or  the  Asylum  have  been  so  well  con- 
ducted that  of  the  fifteen  thousand  three  hundred  and  thirty- 
six  children  admitted  since  its  opening  in  January,  1853, 
only  sixty- three  have  died,  and  during  186-1-65  but  one  death 
occurred. 

The  correctives  applied  are  mainly  moral,  the  rod  being 
very  rarely  employed ;  but  the  hundreds  of  unruly  boys  re- 
ceived annually  make  more  and  more  necessary  the  erection 
of  a  high  enclosure  around  the  premises.  The  building  was 
long  poorly  supplied  with  water  from  wells,  and  the  danger 
of  fire  was  a  source  of  deep  and  constant  anxiety,  but  the 
construction  of  the  high-service  reservoir  has  at  last  obviated 
this  difficulty.  A  steam  pump  has  recently  been  connected 
with  the  general  heating  apparatus,  capable  of  throwing  two 
hundred  gallons  of  water  per  minute  to  any  part  of  the  build- 
ings, with  well-arranged  iron  pipe  and  hose  for  the  speedy  ex- 


332 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


tinction  of  fire.  The  plan  of  the  Institution  is  the  early  return 
of  the  children  to  their  parents,  or  their  indenture  to  respon- 
sible families  in  the  country ;  hence  few  remain  over  six 
months.  The  State  of  Illinois,  the  garden  of  the  West,  was 
early  selected  as  the  place  for  the  deportation  and  indentur- 
ing of  the  children,  and  over  three  thousand  have  been  placed 
in  these  Western  homes.  A  House  of  Reception,  under 
charge  of  a  resident  agent,  has  been  established  at  Chicago. 
This  agent  regularly  visits  the  children  and  corresponds  with 
the  families  in  which  they  live,  taking  care  that  justice  is 
done  to  all  concerned.  Children  are  not  indentured  without 
the  consent  of  their  parents,  except  in  extreme  cases.  They 
are  often  placed  in  large  numbers  in  a  township  or  county, 
and  thus  allowed  to  continue  their  early  acquaintance,  and 
rival  each  other  in  attainments  and  worth.  Clergymen  and 
other  persons  of  character  are  requested  to  instruct  and  other- 
wise care  for  them  after  their  indenture,  and  very  few  have 
turned  out  badly.  More  than  $250,000  have  been  contributed 
by  private  parties  toward  the  support  of  this  Institution  since 
its  establishment,  its  chief  revenue  being  derived  from  the 
city  government.  It  is  admirably  conducted,  and  ranks 
among  the  best  institutions  of  the  age. 


THE  HOUSE  OF  MERCY. 


(Eighty -sixth  street,  North  nver.) 

Woman  has  in  all  time  borne  a  conspicuous  part  in  work? 
of  benevolence  and  reformation.  There  is  an  intensity  in  the 
female  nature  which  generally  develops  into  positive  traits 
of  character,  either  for  good  or  for  evil.  She  loves  or  hates 
with  all  her  heart,  and  can  hardly  occupy  a  middle  ground. 
The  instincts  of  a  good  and  true  woman  are  easily  aroused  by 
the  cries  of  the  wretched  and  helpless,  and  her  entire  nature 
is  at  once  thrown  into  efforts  for  their  relief.  In  the  quick- 
ness of  her  perceptions,  in  the  depth  and  constancy  of  her 
sympathy  and  affection,  as  well  as  in  the  sublimity  of  her 
faith,  she  has  often  excelled  her  more  hardy  companion. 
But  alas!  an  angel  corrupted  becomes  a  devil,  and  a  woman 
abandoned  to  treachery  and  lust  becomes  a  mournful  wreck, 
of  all  others  the  most  difficult  to  recover.  Nature  thus 
abused  seeks  to  avenge  itself  of  the  outrage,  by  sadly  invert- 
ing all  her  high- wrought  faculties,  degrading  to  the  deepest 
infamy  all  that  was  formed  for  sublimity  and  purity.  Only 
woman  can  intimately  superintend  the  recovery  of  her  own. 


334 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


fallen  sex,  and  the  age  has  produced  not  a  few  who  have  suc- 
cessfully toiled  in  this  dark  and  forbidding  field. 

The  House  of  Mercy  was  founded  in  1854,  through  the 
untiring  exertions  of  Mrs.  S.  A.  Richmond,  wife  of  the  late 
Eev.  William  Richmond,  formerly  rector  of  St.  Michael's 
Church,  New  York.  The  act  of  incorporation  was  passed 
February  2d,  1855.  The  efforts  of  the  society  for  several 
ears  were  on  a  limited  scale,  and  conducted  in  private 
ouses  hired  or  gratuitously  furnished  by  the  friends  of  the 
enterprise.  The  zeal  and  efforts  of  Mrs.  Richmond,  who  was 
a  Christian  lady  of  rare  endowments  and  great  address,  dur- 
ing the  infancy  of  the  movement  are  infinitely  above  all 
praise.  She  not  only  sought  with  the  most  careful  training 
the  reformation  of  the  fallen  in  the  Institution,  but  shrank 
from  no  other  toil  or  exposure.  For  several  years  she  so  suc- 
cessfully plead  the  cause  of  the  society  at  the  markets,  in  the 
streets,  and  before  the  counters  of  the  merchants,  that  the 
supplies  of  the  House  were  never  exhausted.  When  her 
failing  health  compelled  her  to  resign  the  superintendency  in 
the  Institution,  she  still  conducted  the  branch  office  at  No. 
304  Mulberry  street,  receiving  and  sending  to  Eighty-sixth 
street  the  women  who  desired  to  reform.  She  was  succeeded 
in  the  management  of  the  Institution  by  several  members  of 
the  sisterhood  of  St.  Mary,  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church, 
who  had  spent  some  time  at  St.  Luke's.  At  first  only  the 
internal  government  was  committed  to  them,  but  for  several 
years  past  the  financial  department,  in  connection  with  the 
trustees,  has  been  in  their  charge  also,  leaving  the  committee 
of  ladies  to  whom  this  was  at  first  assigned  as  merely  repre- 
sentatives from  their  respective  churches.  The  sisters  have 
succeeded  with  much  satisfaction  both  to  themselves  and 
others.  The  younger  class  of  fallen  women  are  taken,  a 
large  part  of  them  being  between  twelve  and  twenty  years  of 
age.  They  are  not  compelled  to  remain  against  their  will,  and 
if  very  refractory  are  sent  away.  Deep-rooted  virtue  is  with 
them  a  plant  of  slow  growth,  hence  a  period  of  exclusion  from 
ordinary  society  for  one  or  two  years  is  considered  essential 
to  their  thorough  reformation.  Many  return  to  their  friends, 
after  spending  a  few  weeks  or  months  in  the  Institution ;  some 
depart  at  the  request  of  the  sisters,  or  without  it;  others  remain 
long,  and  then  go  to  service  in  good  families,  or  enter  upon 
the  responsible  duties  of  the  conjugal  state.  Quite  a  large 
number  of  the  inmates  have  been  confirmed  as  members  of 


THE  HOUSE  OF  MERCY. 


335 


the  church  by  the  bishop  at  his  annual  visit  to  the  Institution 
a  few  of  whom  have  failed  in  the  performance  of  their 
religious  obligations,  but  many  of  them  have  nobly  persevered. 
The  Institution  is  mainly  supported  and  entirely  controlled  by 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  one  of  her  clergymen  offici- 
ating as  chaplain. 

On  the  16th  of  June,  1859,  ten  lots  of  ground,  containing  a 
large  country  mansion,  were  purchased  at  a  cost  of  about 
$12,000.  The  property  is  situated  between  Eighty-fifth  and 
Eighty-sixth  streets,  near  the  Hudson  river.  Six  lots  have 
since  been  added.  Several  successful  fairs  have  been  held, 
and  a  number  of  State  and  city  donations  received,  the 
largest  of  which  was  granted  by  the  Legislature  of  1867, 
amounting  to  $25,000.  The  earnings  of  the  inmates  have 
thus  far  been  small,  and  the  society  depends  upon  its  annual 
subscribers  and  the  gifts  of  the  benevolent  for  the  support 
of  the  House.  When  the  mansion  was  purchased  it  was  said 
to  be  able  to  accommodate  one  hundred  inmates  besides  the 
ladies  in  charge,  but  like  too  many  other  estimates  it  fell 
short  just  one  half.  It  has  never  afforded  the  space  or  ar- 
rangement for  suitably  classifying  and  dividing  its  forty-five 
or  fifty  inmates,  a  matter  of  vital  importance  in  such  an  insti- 
tution. For  several  years  the  society  sought  for  means  to 
enlarge  their  buildings.  The  State  grant  of  1867,  supple- 
mented by  liberal  subscriptions  from  the  friends  of  the  enter- 
prise, enabled  them  in  1869  to  carry  forward  this  much-de- 
sired project. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  new  building  was  laid  by  Bishop 
Potter  of  Xew  York  on  the  16th  of  October,  1869,  in  the 
presence  of  Bishops  Southgate,  Lay,  Quintard,  and  a  large 
number  of  clergymen  and  friends  of  the  Institution  from  the 
city.  An  interesting  address,  containing  valuable  reminis- 
cences of  the  past,  was  delivered  by  Eev.  Dr.  Peters.  The 
building  occupies  a  beautiful  site,  almost  overhanging  the 
Hudson,  fronting  on  Eighty-sixth  street,  and  at  a  pleasant 
remove  from  the  new  Boulevard.  It  is  built  of  sandstone  and 
red  brick,  relieved  with  dressings  of  Ohio  stone.  On  entering 
the  principal  door,  access  is  had  to  a  spacious  hall ;  opening 
out  of  this  are  offices,  and  beyond  a  broad  staircase  of  iron 
ascending  to  the  upper  stories.  On  the  floor  above  is  a  cor- 
ridor, ninety  feet  in  length,  lighted  by  windows  taken  from 
the  old  oratory,  thus  connecting  the  old  building  with  the 
chapel,  dining-hall,  and  school-rooms.    The  chapel  is  fifty  feet 


336 


NEW  "SOEK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


in  length,  terminating  at  the  eastern  end  in  a  circular  apse ; 
the  altar  and  reredos  are  of  carved  stone,  supported  by  pillars 
of  polished  marble,  the  sanctuary  being  laid  with  encaustic 
tile.  At  the  west  end,  on  either  side  of  the  door,  are  apart- 
ments for  the  Sisters,  and  above  these,  behind  an  open  arcade, 
are  two  concealed  galleries,  one  for  visitors  and  the  other  for 
the  sick.  In  the  second  story  are  placed  the  infirmary,  a 
Sister's  room,  bath-room,  and  a  mortuary;  over  these  a  dormi- 
tory, divided  into  little  rooms  by  low  wainscot  partitions  and 
curtained  doors.  A  slender  bell-turret  surmounts  the  roof, 
rising  to  the  height  of  eighty-eight  feet.  The  basement  con- 
tains laundry,  kitchen,  pantries,  and  store-room.  The  stained 
glass  for  the  windows  was  imported  from  England.  The 
edifice  cost  $30,000,  and  the  sixteen  lots,  with  their  buildings, 
are  now  valued  at  $100,000,  and  are  free  from  debt.  The 
number  of  inmates  is  now  to  be  increased  from  forty-five  to 
one  hundred,  and  the  managers  propose  to  eventually  remove 
the  old  frame  mansion  and  complete  a  large  quadrangle,  in- 
closing the  property  of  the  Institution  with  permanent  build- 
ings in  the  style  of  the  one  just  erected. 


HEBREW  BENEVOLENT  AND  ORPHAN  ASYLUM  SOCIETY  OF 
THE  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

(Seventy -seventh  street  and  Third  avenue.) 

N  the  8th  of  April,  1822,  a  number  of  gentlemen  of 
the  Jewish  persuasion,  residents  of  the  city  of  New 
York,  organized  the  "  Hebrew  Benevolent  Society," 
which  was  incorporated  by  act  of  Legislature  Febru- 
ary 2,  1832,  granting  power  to  hold  real  and  personal  estate, 
the  annual  income  of  which  should  not  exceed  $2,000.  The 
objects  of  the  society  were  stated  to  be  "charitable,  and  to 
afford  relief  to  its  members  in  cases  of  sickness  and  infirm- 
ity." 

In  January,  1845,  the  "  German  Hebrew  Benevolent 
Society,"  a  rival  organization,  sprang  up,  which  was  the  same 
year  incorporated,  and  exerted  a  large  influence  for  fourteen 
years.    The  objects  of  this  organization,  as  set  forth  in  its  act 


HEBREW  BENEVOLENT  AND  ORPHAN  ASYLUM  SOCIETY.  337 


of  incorporation,  were — "to  assist  the  needy,  succor  the  help- 
less, and  protect  the  weak."  The  proceedings  of  this  society 
were  transacted  and  the  minutes  kept  in  the  German  lan- 
guage. In  1847  this  society  voted  81,500  out  of  its  general 
fund,  and  a  portion  of  its  annual  receipts,  toward  the  erection 
of  a  hospital.  The  Hebrew  Benevolent  Society  promptly 
united  in  this  movement,  but,  as  the  wealthier  congregations 
withheld  their  support,  the  enterprise  failed  for  lack  of  means. 
In  1859  the  German  Society  having  voted  to  appropriate  the 
hospital  fund  for  the  establishment  of  an  orphan  asylum,  and 
a  home  for  aged  and  indigent  Jews,  and  the  opinion  having 
become  general  that  the  cause  of  charity  would  be  promoted 
by  a  union  of  the  two  societies,  they  were  happily  united,  and 
a  supplementary  act  of  incorporation  passed  April  12,  1860, 
under  the  title  of  the  "  Hebrew  Benevolent  and  Orphan 
Asylum  Society  of  the  City  of  New  York."  The  new  or- 
ganization proposed  "  to  relieve  the  sick,  succor  the  poor  and 
needy,  support  and  comfort  the  widow,  clothe,  educate,  and 
maintain  the  orphan."  This  was  to  be  done  by  the  establish- 
ment of  a  well-regulated  system  of  out-door  relief  for  the 
poor ;  by  founding  and  maintaining  an  asylum  for  Jewish 
orphans ;  and  by  establishing  a  home  for  the  support  of  the 
aged  poor.  Any  Israelite  may  become  a  member  of  the 
society  on  the  payment  of  one  hundred  dollars.  The  busi- 
ness of  the  society  is  conducted  by  a  president,  vice-presi- 
dent, a  treasurer,  and  eighteen  trustees,  six  of  whom  are 
annually  elected  at  the  meeting  of  the  society  in  April. 

The  last  act  of  incorporati6n  granted  power  to  hold  estate, 
the  income  of  which  should  not  exceed  $15,000 ;  authorized 
the  city  to  grant  land  to  the  society  for  the  erection  of  suit- 
able buildings ;  and  clothed  it  with  the  same  power  to  man- 
age and  indenture  orphans  that  had  been  given  to  other 
societies.  In  1861  the  Corporation  granted  a  beautiful  plot 
of  ground  on  the  corner  of  Seventy-seventh  street  and  Third 
avenue,  and  the  sum  of  $30,000  toward  the  erection  of  an 
asylum.  The  corner-stone  of  the  building  was  laid  Septem- 
ber 30th,  1862,  and  the  edifice  formally  dedicated  November 
5,  1863.  The  Asylum  consists  of  a  main  building  and  two 
wings,  the  principal  front,  on  Seventy-seventh  street,  being 
one  hundred  and  twenty  feet,  with  a  depth  of  sixty,  and  cost 
$40,000.  It  is  constructed  of  brick,  is  three  stories  high, 
besides  a  high  basement  and  sub-cellar.  The  ceilings  are 
high,  the  halls  wide,  the  apartments  conveniently  arranged 


338 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


with  all  the  modern  improvements,  and  crowned  everywhere 
with  completest  order  and  tidiness.  The  lecture-room  (or 
miniature  synagogue),  like  every  other  part  of  the  Institution, 
is  replete  with  Jewish  taste  and  trimming.  A  yard  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  feet  by  one  hundred  and  two,  lying  be- 
tween the  Asylum  and  Third  avenue,  is  devoted  to  a  beautiful 
flower-garden,  and  ample  play -grounds  are  furnished  in  the 
rear. 

The  Superintendent,  Louis  Schnabel,  is  a  Jewish  rabbi,  and 
conducts  the  services  of  the  Institution.    At  the  opening  of 
the  Asylum  fifty-six  orphans,  who  had  been  provided  for  by 
the  society  in  various  places,  were  transferred  to  it,  and  the 
number  has  since  reached  one  hundred  and  fifty-eight,  the 
full  capacity  of  the  building.     The  children  attend  the 
public  schools  daily,  where  they  generally  excel  in  their  stud- 
ies, and  when  promoted  to  the  grammar  department  they 
also  take  up  the  study  of  Hebrew  in  the  Asylum.  These 
Hebrew  scholars  are  divided  into  five  classes,  and  many  of 
the  students  attain  a  fine  education.    Experimental  work- 
shops have  recently  been  added,  which  if  successful  will  soon 
be  greatly  enlarged.    One  hundred  and  six  of  the  two  hun- 
dred and  twent}T-one  in  the  Institution  during  1872  were  born 
in  Xew  York,  and  the  remaining  115  represented  eleven  of  the 
American  States,  and  seven  of  the  countries  of  Europe  and 
Asia.    Eight  were  admitted  at  the  age  of  five,  two  at  seven- 
teen ;  the  larger  portion  are,  however,  received  between  the 
ages  of  seven  and  twelve  years.    Indentures  are  made  only 
to  Hebrews  of  good  standing. 

Eight  members  of  the  board  of  directors  are  constituted  a 
committee  of  charity  and  relief,  who  investigate  by  personal 
visitation  the  circumstances  of  all  applicants.  During  1869, 
3,926  persons  were  relieved  at  an  expense  of  S13,425.  One 
hundred  and  forty-six  persons  were  assisted  to  go  West,  South, 
or  to  return  to  friends  in  Europe. 

The  Hebrew  fair,  held  during  the  winter  of  1870  and  one  of 
the  most  succesoful  ever  held  on  Manhattan  by  any  society, 
netted  the  Asylum  §35,000,  and  the  Mount  Sinai  Hospital 
over  $100,000. 


HOUSE  OF  THE  GOOD  SHEPHERD. 


{Ninetieth  street  and  East  river.) 

This  Institution  was  commenced  on  the  2d  of  October, 
1857,  by  five  members  of  the  "Order  of  Our  Lady  of 
Charity  of  the  Good  Shepherd,"  belonging  to  the  Mother 
House  of  Angers,  in  France.  The  operations  of  the  society 
began  in  a  house  in  Fourteenth  street,  but  in  1861  they 
erected  a  convent  and  chapel  at  the  foot  of  Ninetieth  street, 
East  river.  In  1864  a  five-story  brick  building,  fifty  feet 
by  ninety,  was  reared  on  Eighty -ninth  street,  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  feet  from  the  convent,  and  in  1868  and 
1869  another  of  the  same  size  was  joined  to  the  end  of  the 
former,  stretching  across  to  Ninetieth  street.  The  cost  of 
their  buildings  has  now  exceeded  $275,000,  and  another 
edifice  is  still  to  be  added  to  complete  their  plan. 

The  order  was  founded  by  Pere  Eudes  in  1661,  with  the 
avowed  object  of  affording  a  refuge  for  fallen  women  and 
girls  who  desired  to  reform.  Being  an  enclosed  order,  a  veil 
of  secrecy  is  thrown  over  most  of  their  doings.  The  Lady 
Superior  converses  with  the  outside  world  through  an  iron- 
grated  ceiling,  inside  of  which  the  curious  are  seldom  per- 
mitted to  step,  and  the  order,  except  a  few  outside  Sisters,  are 


840 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


forever  concealed  in  the  shadows  of  the  cloister.  By  recep- 
tion of  novices,  the  order  now  numbers  ninety  members, 
besides  the  out-door  Sisters ;  twelve  of  these  are  engaged  in 
founding  an  order  in  Brooklyn,  and  eleven  in  Boston.  The 
Institution  is  a  house  of  correction,  seeking  the  reform  of 
abandoned  women,  some  of  whom  come  voluntarily,  others 
by  persuasion,  some  are  sent  by  the  courts,  and  some  are 
placed  here  by  their  friends. 

The  Sisters  declare  that  moral  means  alone  are  employed 
for  the  reformation  of  the  inmates,  and  that  those  who  come 
voluntarily  can  depart  at  pleasure ;  but  some  who  have  escaped 
have  told  doleful  stories  about  the  discipline  and  fare,  upon 
the  merits  of  which  we  shall  not  attempt  to  decide.  The 
Sisters  dwell  in  the  convent,  but  some  of  them  are  said  to  be 
always  with  the  inmates  both  night  and  day,  in  recreation, 
toil,  devotion,  and  slumber.  The  inmates  are  divided  into 
four  classes,  each  of  which  is  entirely  separated  from  all  the 
rest,  with  whom  they  are  never  allowed  to  communicate. 
The  first  class  consists  of  penitent  magdalens,  who  have  been 
converted  from  the  error  of  their  ways,  and  who  have  been 
admitted  to  a  low  grade  of  the  order.  The  second  class  is 
composed  of  penitent  women  and  girls,  received  into  the 
Asylum  but  not  }Tet  converted.  The  third  is  a  preservation 
class,  composed  of  children  who  are  in  danger  of  falling, 
most  of  whose  parents  are  bad.  The  fourth  consists  of  girls 
between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and  twenty-one,  who  have  been 
committed  by  the  magistrates,  and  who  remain  during  the 
term  of  commitment.  About  twenty-nine  hundred  have  been 
received  into  the  Institution  since  its  founding,  very  many 
of  whom  are  said  to  have  reformed,  though  the  screen  which 
prevents  public  inspection  leaves  greater  place  for  distrust 
than  with  almost  an}'  other  institution  in  New  York.  In 
February,  1870,  no  less  than  seven  hundred  inmates  were 
concealed  within  those  walls,  three  hundred  of  whom  had 
been  sent  by  the  magistrates,  and  the  superioress  informed 
us  that  one  hundred  and  fifty  more  could  be  well  accommo- 
dated. Their  chief  occupation  is  machine  and  hand  sewing, 
embroidery,  with  various  other  species  of  remunerative 
handicraft,  and  laundry  work.  The  Institution  has  a  priest 
who  conducts  service  every  morning  in  the  chapel,  where  all 
attend.  This  institution  is  noted  as  the  place  of  the  involun- 
tary confinement  of  Mary  Ann  Smith,  the  daughter  of  a 
Romanist,  who  had  embraced  Protestantism.    Many  of  the 


ST.  BARNABAS  HOUSE. 


341 


girls  received  remain  permanently  through  life,  a  few  after- 
wards marry,  some  after  their  reformation  go  out  to  service 
in  good  families,  and  not  a  few  descend  again  to  old  practices 
and  "wallow  in  the  mire."  The  Public  Authorities  have 
dealt  very  liberally  with  this  Institution. 


ST.  BAKNABAS  HOUSE. 
(No.  304  Mulberry  street.) 

iBjP HIS  House  was  originally  opened  by  Mrs.  William 
Richmond,  under  the  name  of  the  "  Home  for  Home- 
wijl  less  Women  and  Children."  Before  her  death  it  was 
purchased  by  the  New  York  Protestant  Episcopal 
City  Mission  Society,  and  opened  in  June,  1865,  under  the 
name  of  the  St.  Barnabas  House.  In  1866  the  society  pur- 
chased the  adjoining  building,  No.  306  Mulberry  street,  in  the 
front  of  which  the  chapel  was  located,  leaving  the  basement, 
second  story,  and  attic  of  this  building,  as  well  as  all  of  the 
building  No.  304,  for  the  purposes  of  the  Home.  A  rear 
building,  connected  with  No.  306,  furnished  convenient  rooms 
for  the  clergy  and  committees.  The  buildings  are  of  brick, 
of  moderate  size,  and  contain  fifty  beds,  sixteen  of  which  are 
for  children. 

The  House  was  opened  by  the  above-mentioned  society  as 
a  6ort  of  experiment,  and  an  executive  committee  was 
appointed  for  its  management,  who  relied  mainly  on  special 
contributions  for  its  support.  The  House  is  designed  as  a 
place  of  refuge  for  homeless  women  and  children,  applying 
irom  the  streets  or  wandering  in  from  the  country ;  also  for 
women  discharged  from  the  hospital,  cured,  but  requiring  a 
few  days  of  repose  to  recover  strength,  but  destitute  of  home, 
friends,  and  money.  It  is  however  intended  only  as  a  tempo- 
rary resting-place,  hence  most  of  those  admitted  are  sent  to 
situations  during  the  first  week.  The  average  stay  of  2,150 
women  in  the  House  during  1869  was  three  and  one-fifth 
days.  During  1865  there  were  but  two  months  that  there 
were  over  eighty  inmates  received.    In  November,  1866,  the 


342 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


number  reached  166,  and  in  December  196.  Each  month 
in  1868  brought  over  two  hundred,  the  largest  number  in 
any  month  being  262.  A  little  family  of  sixteen  children 
who  have  no  homes  are  kept  as  steady  inmates,  clothed  and 
instructed.  One  room  is  set  apart  as  a  wardrobe  department, 
where  garments  are  made  and  repaired.  Nearly  six  thou- 
sand persons  have  been  received  during  the  last  three  years, 
of  whom  3,602  were  Protestants,  2,203  Koman  Catholics,  and 
7  Jews.  Of  this  number,  1,924  were  sent  to  situations,  1,456 
to  other  institutions,  and  1,835  returned  to  their  friends. 
But  one  death  occurred  in  the  House  during  that  time. 
During  the  same  time  the  Ilouse  afforded  46,958  lodgings 
to  the  homeless,  and  supplied  188,163  gratuitous  meals  to 
the  hungry.  The  annual  expenses  of  the  Institution  amount 
to  about  §7,000.  The  business  of  the  House  has  outgrown 
its  accommodations,  and  the  managers  have  appealed  for 
means  to  greatly  enlarge  their  borders,  and  supply  several 
desirable  apartments  never  yet  provided. 

Destitute  and  afflicted  families  in  the  neighborhood  almost 
daily  apply  at  the  Institution  for  assistance.  A  visitor  is  sent 
to  investigate  the  case,  and  if  found  to  be  one  of  real  distress 
relief  in  some  form  is  administered.  Some  are  allowed  to 
come  to  the  House  for  meals,  others  are  supplied  with  coal, 
garments,  or  money  for  rent.  Much  attention  is  given  to  the 
sick. 

The  House  for  three  years  has  been  managed  by  the  "  Sister- 
hood of  the  Good  Shepherd,"  a  new  order  of  females  in  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  church.  Several  Sisters  were  organized 
under  the  above  title  by  the  bishop  of  the  diocese,  in  St. 
Ann's  church,  on  the  second  Tuesday  after  Easter,  1869.  At 
the  time  of  the  organization  there  were  three  Sisters  received, 
also  three  visitors,  and  one  associate.  Some  of  these  have 
since  retired  from  active  service,  and  as  these  organizations 
are  not  popular  among  Protestants,  only  enough  have  been 
received  to  keep  good  the  original  number. 

The  habit  worn  by  this  order  is  the  most  simple  of  any  we 
have  yet  seen,  and  hence  less  objectionable.  They  are  much 
devoted  to  their  undertaking,  and  abundant  in  toil,  making 
several  hundred  visits  to  those  sick  or  in  prison  per  year,  be- 
sides conducting  the  House  of  St.  Barnabas.  A  small  room 
on  the  third  floor  has  been  set  apart  for  an  Oratory,  where  the 
Sisters  all  retire  at  twelve  o'clock  each  day  for  prayer,  which 
is  offered  by  the  superioress,  all  others  joining  in  the  responses. 


ST.  BARNABAS  HOUSE. 


343 


The  room  is  neatly  carpeted,  has  chairs  and  a  small  reading 
desk,  but  contains  no  images,  pictures,  or  ornaments  of  any 
kind.  Family  prayer  is  also  daily  conducted  in  the  House, 
and  all  the  inmates  are  required  to  attend.  A  chaplain  con- 
ducts service  every  Lord's  Day.  A  number  of  ladies  and 
gentlemen  from  the  surrounding  parishes  conduct  a  Sunday- 
school  for  the  benefit  of  the  children  in  the  House,  and  those 
of  the  neighborhood.  The  register  contains  the  names  of 
over  two  hundred  scholars,  less  than  half  of  whom  attend 
regularly.  There  is  also  connected  with  the  Institution  an 
industrial  society,  composed  of  twenty-two  ladies,  who  hold 
a  weekly  sewing  school,  with  an  average  attendance  of  sixty- 
five  girls.  The  Institution  is  located  in  a  neighborhood  greatly 
needing  its  influence,  and  has  been  already  a  rich  fountain  of 
blessing  to  thousands. 


THE    INSTITUTION   OF   MERCY   (BOYS'  BUILDING). 


THE  INSTITUTION  OF  MERCY. 
(No.  33  Houston  street.) 

This  Institution  is  situated  at  No.  33  Houston  street,  ad- 
joining and  controlled  by  the  Convent  of  the  Sisters  of 
Mercy.  The  society  was  incorporated  in  1848,  under  the 
general  act  of  May  12th  of  that  year,  and  the  three-story 
brick  building  comer  of  Houston  and  Mulberry  streets  pur- 
chased at  a  cost  of  $30,000.  This  is  the  Convent,  or  home  of 
the  Sisters  of  Mercy.  The  same  year  the  edifice  known  as  the 
Institution  of  Mercy,  a  plain  four-story  brick,  forty  feet  by 
seventy-two,  was  begun,  on  lots  adjoining  the  purchased  build- 
ing, and  sufficiently  completed  to  receive  inmates  in  Novem- 
ber, 1849.  The  Sisters  of  Mercy  are  a  religious  order  of  Ro- 
man Catholics,  founded  by  Catharine  McAuly,  a  lady  of  for- 
tune of  Dublin,  in  1827,  and  the  order  was  approved  by 
Pope  Gregory  XVI.  in  1835,  and  confirmed  in  1841.  The 
order  lias  in  view  the  visitation  of  the  sick  and  prisoners, 
the  instruction  of  poor  girls,  and  the  protection  of  virtuous 
women  in  distress.  The  first  community  in  the  United  States 
was  established  in  Pittsburg  in  1843,  but  none  entered  New 
York  until  1846,  when  Archbishop  Hughes  invited  them  to 


THE  INSTITUTION  OF  MEECY. 


345 


come  from  Ireland  and  establish  an  institution.  The  Sisters 
are  subject  to  the  bishops,  but  have  no  general  superior,  each 
community  being  independent  of  the  rest  of  the  order.  The 
Sisters  are  divided  into  two  orders :  choir  sisters,  who  are  em- 
ployed about  the  ordinary  objects  of  the  order;  and  lay  sis- 
ters, who  attend  to  the  domestic  avocations  of  the  convent,  etc. 
Candidates  for  admission  into  the  order  undergo  a  "  postul- 
ancy  "  of  six  months ;  they  then  receive  the  white  veil  and 
enter  the  novitiate,  which  lasts  two  years,  being  permitted  at 
any  time  to  return  to  the  world  before  the  vows  are  finally 
taken.  The  presiding  mind  in  each  community  is  the  Mother 
Superior.  Agnes  O'Conner  was  the  first  in  New  York,  and 
the  present  one  is  the  fourth.  The  community  at  present 
numbers  49, 12  of  whom  are  at  the  Industrial  Home  at  Eighty- 
first  street.  The  Sisters  teacli  a  select  school  of  day  scho- 
lars at  the  Convent,  and  another  in  Fifty-fourth  street  for 
their  own  support,  so  as  not  to  be  an  expense  to  their  Insti- 
tution. 

The  Sisters  are  a  corporate  body,  holding  their  own  prop- 
erty, and  elect  annually  their  board  of  eight  trustees  from 
their  own  number.  Archbishop  Hughes  ordered  each  Catho- 
lic pastor  in  New  York  to  collect  $500  to  assist  them  in  found- 
ing their  Institution  in  1848,  and  a  number  of  private  dona- 
tions were  also  received.  The  Roman  Catholic  churches  in 
the  city  continued  for  several  years  to  take  collections  for  this 
cause,  but  this  is  no  longer  considered  necessary.  Virtuous 
girls  of  any  age,  out  of  employment,  are  received  into  the  In- 
stitution, and  remain  a  longer  or  shorter  period,  according  to 
circumstances.  Machine  and  hand  sewing,  embroidery,  and 
laundry  work,  form  the  chief  employment  of  the  inmates. 
Many  young  females  from  other  countries,  just  landing  on 
our  shores,  with  little  or  no  means,  have  been  picked  up  by 
this  society  and  raised  to  industry  and  respectability,  who 
would  otherwise  have  soon  sunken  into  pits  of  infamy.  Since 
the  opening  of  the  Institution,  over  eleven  thousand  girls  have 
been  admitted,  and  the  Sisters  have  found  places  of  employ- 
ment for  about  twenty  thousand.  This  last  number  includes 
some  from  the  House  of  Protection  at  West  Farms,  and 
many  who  have  not  been  received  into  either  institution. 
The  earnings  of  the  girls  go  toward  the  support  of  the  Insti- 
tution, deficiencies  being  provided  for  by  private  and  public 
donations,  and  by  fairs.    The  Institution  has  accommodations 


346 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


for  about  seventy-five,  though  in  times  of  great  destitution 
one  hundred  and  twenty  have  been  crowded  into  it. 

The  Sisters  do  also  a  vast  amount  of  outside  visiting  every 
year.  Clad  in  their  sable  habit,  they  glide  like  shadows  through 
the  crowded  streets,  finding  their  way  to  abodes  of  sickness 
and  poverty  in  garrets  and  cellars.  They  search  the  prisons 
of  this  and  of  neighboring  cities,  "  prepare  "  the  Catholic 
culprit  for  the  scaffold,  administer  as  far  as  means  will  permit 
to  the  wrants  of  the  destitute,  and  prepare  for  the  sacraments 
ten  times  more  children  than  the  same  number  of  priests. 
However  much  one  may  criticise  their  work,  or  pity  their 
delusions,  they  are  certainty  abundant  in  self-sacrifices,  untir- 
ing in  toil,  and  rank  among  the  best  of  their  denomination. 
They  are  well  informed,  especially  in  matters  of  their  own 
church,  polite  in  their  attentions  to  literary  visitors,  and  if 
disrobed  of  the  habit  of  the  order,  and  dressed  for  the  draw- 
ing-room, a  few  of  them  would  be  pronounced  handsome. 

For  several  years  past  the  Sisters  have  been  engaged  in  the 
erection  of  a  building  for  an  "  Industrial  School  for  the  Des- 
titute Children  of  Soldiers  and  Others."  This  was  finally 
completed  and  occupied  in  the  autumn  of  1869.  It  stands  on 
a  block  of  ground  contributed  by  the  authorities,  bounded  by 
Madison  and  Fourth  avenues,  Eighty-first  and  Eighty-second 
streets.  It  is  situated  on  high  ground,  is  an  imposing  four- 
story  and  attic  structure,  in  the  Gothic  order,  with  stone  cop- 
ings, and  has  accommodations  for  five  hundred  children.  It 
has  a  front  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet,  a  depth  of  sixty, 
and  a  rear  extension  for  the  engine  which  heats  the  building, 
for  wash-room,  laundry,  and  other  conveniences.  It  cost,  with 
its  furniture,  $180,000,  $105,000  of  which  were  contributed  by 
the  State,  always  liberal  to  prodigality  to  the  Institutions  of 
Roman  Catholics.  It  had  at  our  visit  to  it,  February  22d, 
1870,  80  children.  The  children  of  soldiers  are  to  be  taken 
free,  as  are  all  others  twelve  years  of  age,  some  pay  or  cloth- 
ing being  required  with  those  received  at  an  earlier  age. 


ORPHAN  ASYLUM  OF  ST.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL. 

{Thirty-ninth  street,  near  Seventh  avenue.) 


)Um*TLE  society  by  which  this  Institution  has  been  estab- 
'^J^sr  lished  began  its  work  in  the  year  1859,  in  a  hired 
house  in  West  Twenty-sixth  street,  where  it  continued 
until  January,  1870.  The  building  was  capable  of 
accommodating  sixty  girls  and  thirty  boys,  and  was  always 
well  filled.  A  band  of  Catholic  females  (fourteen  at  present), 
known  as  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross,  whose  Mother  House 
is  in  the  north  of  France,  have  had  charge  of  the  Asylum 
from  the  first,  instructing  the  children,  and  performing  all 
the  labor  of  the  household.  Several  years  since,  the  man- 
agers purchased  several  valuable  lots  of  ground,  situated  on 
Thirty-ninth  street,  near  Seventh  avenue,  at  a  cost  of  $38,000. 
In  1868  the  first  half  of  the  Asylum  was  begun,  and  sufficient- 
ly completed  to  become  tenantable  early  in  January,  1870. 
The  portion  erected  is  sixty  feet  square,  leaving  space  for  an 
addition  of  the  same  size,  which  will  doubtless  be  added  at 
no  distant  day.  The  building  is  a  French  Gothic,  constructed 
of  pressed  brick,  with  Ohio  free-stone  trimmings,  is  five  stories 
above  the  basement,  including  two  attic  Mansard  stories. 
The  kitchen,  laundry,  and  children's  dining-room  are  in  the 
basement.  The  first  floor  contains  reception-room,  parlor, 
dining-room  for  the  sisters,  and  the  large  sewing-room  where 
the  girls  are  taught  needle-work.  The  upper  stories  are 
appropriately  divided  between  school-rooms,  dormitories,  and 
storerooms.  The  building,  which  is  a  model  of  neatness  and 
taste,  has  thus  far  cost  $74,000,  and  when  completed  will  be 
an  architectural  ornament  to  that  portion  of  the  city.  The 
cut  represents  the  building  as  it  will  appear  when  fully  com- 
pleted. The  children  represent,  in  their  nationality,  Italy, 
Germany,  Poland,  England,  Ireland,  Portugal,  Sweden, 
France;  and  America.  They  are  taken  from  any  country,  of 
any  religion,  and  at  any  age  not  below  four  years,  and  are 
retained,  the  boys  until  they  are  eleven  or  twelve,  and  the 
girls  until  they  are  sixteen.  The  English  text-books  employed 
in  the  public  schools  are  used,  to  which  are  added  a  course 
of  study  in  French,  the  Catholic  catechism,  etc.  The  girls 
are  all  taught  trades,  and  fitted  for  self -maintenance  when 


348 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS., 


they  leave  the  Institution.  The  Asylum  has  at  present  nearly 
two  hundred  children,  and  when  completed  will  afford  space 
for  about  four  hundred.  A  donation  of  $15,000  was  in  1870 
received  from  the  city.  The  ladies  in  charge,  though  not 
fluent  in  English,  are  prepossessing  in  appearance,  polite  to 
visitors,  and  deserving  of  credit  for  the  order  and  vigor  with 
which  their  affairs  are  conducted. 


ROMAN  CATHOLIC  PROTECTORr  (BOYS'  BUILDING). 


SOCIETY  FOR  THE  PROTECTION  OF  DESTITUTE  ROMAN  CATH- 
OLIC CHILDREN. 

(West  Farms.) 

The  plan  for  organizing  this  Society,  and  founding  this 
Institution,  originated  with  the  late  Levi  Silliman  Ives,  D.D., 
LL.D.,  formerly  bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
of  North  Carolina,  but  who  joined  the  Roman  Catholics 
while  on  a  visit  to  Rome,  in  1852.  The  act  of  incorporation 
passed  the  Legislature  April  14,  1863,  making  it  the  duty  of 
the  courts  that  "  whenever  the  parent,  guardian,  or  next  of 
kin  of  any  Catholic  child  about  to  be  finally  committed 
shall  request  the  magistrate  to  commit  the  child  to  the  Cath- 
olic Institution,  the  magistrate  shall  grant  the  request." 

The  management  of  this  Institution  is  committed  to  a 
board  of  about  twenty-five  laymen  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
church,  the  Mayor,  Recorder,  and  Comptroller  of  New  York 
being  annually  added  as  members  ex  officio.  The  Society  began 
its  labors  soon  after  its  organization,  in  a  hired  house  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  city,  receiving  at  first  only  boys ;  but  after  a 


350 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


few  months  a  girls'  department  was  added.  Their  first  plan 
was  to  apprentice  the  children  after  a  very  short  detention 
at  the  Protectory,  but  their  Third  Annual  Report  pronounces 
the  apprenticeship  system,  as  then  practised,  a  " great  evil" 
and  fur  two  reasons:  1.  Because  the  children  were  not  pre- 
pared by  previous  discipline  and  education  to  ensure  content- 
ment, obedience,  and  fidelity.  2.  That  the  avarice  of  the 
persons  to  whom  they  were  apprenticed  caused  most  of  them 
to  be  overworked,  their  education  neglected,  and  the  neces- 
sary supplies  of  food  and  clothing  withheld.  Three-fourths 
of  those  apprenticed  up  to  that  time,  it  was  stated,  had  "  be- 
come perfectly  worthless."  The  crowded  condition  of  their 
buildings,  and  the  manifest  necessity  of  retaining  the  chil- 
dren until  sober  and  industrious  habits  had  been  formed, 
induced  the  managers  to  purchase  a  farm  of  one  hundred 
and  fourteen  acres  (since  increased  to  one  hundred  and  forty 
acres),  at  West  Farms,  three  miles  above  Harlem  bridge.  On 
the  first  of  May,  1866,  their  lease  having  expired  at  York- 
ville,  the  family  of  four  hundred  boys  was  transferred  to 
West  Farms,  and  quartered  in  farm-houses,  and  such  other 
buildings  as  could  be  secured,  until  a  wing  of  the  present 
building  could  be  completed.  This  wing  was  greatly  crowded 
for  two  years  previous  to  the  completion  of  the  main  build- 
ing, seven  hundred  or  eight  hundred  boys,  with  their  over- 
seers and  instructors,  having  constantly  occupied  it,  it  fur- 
nishing all  their  apartments,  besides  appropriating  space  for 
workshops,  offices,  etc.  The  main  structure  is  now  com- 
pleted. The  original  wing  is  two  hundred  and  fifteen  feet 
long,  forty  feet  wide,  and  four  stories  high,  while  the  front 
and  main  edifice,  which  forms  a  transept  or  colossal  cross, 
presents  a  handsome  f acade  of  two  hundred  and  thirty  feet,  is 
fifty  feet  wide,  and  five  stories  high,  with  attic.  It  is  a  truly 
imposing  structure,  surmounted  by  a  lofty  tower,  is  built  of 
brick,  with  marble  trimmings,  in  the  French  Gothic  style  of 
architecture,  and  cost  $350,000.  They  are  now  able  to  in- 
crease the  family  of  boys  to  about  twelve  hundred,  and  afford 
them  much  better  accommodations  than  ever  before. 

The  boys  are  wholly  committed  to  the  control  and  educa- 
tion of  the  Christian  Brothers,  belonging  to  the  society  origin- 
ally organized  in  France  by  Jean  Baptiste  De  La  Salle,  in 
1681.  They  are  a  society  of  laymen  organized  for  the  gratui- 
tous education  of  the  poor,  giving  themselves  wholly  to  the 
church  as  teachers,  laboring,  wherever  appointed,  with  a  salary 


SOCIETY  FOE  PROTECTION  OF  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHILDREN.  351 


just  sufficient  to  meet  their  expenses.  When  they  take  the 
vows  of  the  order  they  renounce  all  plans  of  business,  and  all 
thoughts  of  entering  the  priesthood.  In  1844  some  of  the 
fraternity  emigrated  to  Canada,  and  in  1847  found  their  way 
into  the  United  States.  Brother  Teliow,  the  Rector  (superin- 
tendent), an  educated  Prussian,  a  gentlemen  of  modest  bear- 
ing, but  of  wise  and  decided  administrative  ability,  has  had 
control  of  the  House  since  its  opening.  He  is  assisted  by 
twenty -two  of  the  brothers,  who  eat  and  sleep  in  the  rooms 
with  the  boys,  superintend  their  toil  and  studies,  attend  them 
at  worship,  and  in  their  recreations.  The  brothers  are 
usually  mild  and  generous  in  their  treatment,  seldom  inflict- 
ing corporal  punishment,  but  more  wisely  appealing  to  their 
honor  and  interests.  Neither  the  grounds  nor  the  buildings 
have  any  formidable  enclosures,  and  the  boys  are  often  sent 
to  the  village,  and  sometimes  to  New  York,  entrusted  with 
horses  and  other  responsible  matters.  True,  some  forget  to 
return,  but  the  policy  of  trusting  them  is  believed  to  do 
immensely  more  good  than  evil,  and  when  one  absconds  a 
hundred  are  ready  to  volunteer  as  detectives,  to  compel  his 
return.  They  carry  on  the  manufacture  of  ladies',  misses',  and 
children's  shoes  on  quite  a  large  scale,  the  boys  mastering 
every  branch  of  the  business,  though  this  has  not  yet  been 
made  as  remunerative  as  at  the  House  of  Refuge.  Particular 
attention  is  paid  to  agricultural  and  horticultural  pursuits,  and 
some  are  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  hoop-skirts,  others 
in  tailoring,  baking,  and  printing.  They  manufacture  their 
own  gas,  do  all  their  kitchen  and  laundry  work,  so  that  celi- 
bacy here  is  a  practical  thing,  from  superior  to  minion.  The 
boys  make  the  shoes  for  the  girls'  department,  but  ask  and 
receive  no  favors  in  return.  Their  ages  vary  from  five  to 
seventeen  years,  a  large  portion  of  them  being  quite  young 
and  mostly  of  Irish  parentage.  Nearly  one-half  are  unable 
to  read  when  committed,  but,  several  hours  per  day  being 
always  devoted  to  study,  many  attain  to  respectable  scholar- 
ship, and  a  few  enter  upon  the  study  of  the  classics.  Music 
is  also  taught.  There  are  no  definite  rules  governing  the 
period  of  detention.  Most  of  them  are  returned  to  their  par- 
ents, and  many  return  the  second  time  to  the  Institution. 
Parents  who  have  neglected  children  to  their  ruin,  rarely  ex- 
hibit much  improvement  on  a  second  trial. 

About  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  from  the  premises  just 
described  stands  the  girls'  building,  two  hundred  and  sixty- 


352 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS 


nine  feet  long,  varying  in  width  from  forty-five  to  seventy 
feet.  It  is  built  in  the  .Romanesque  style,  with  high  basement 
and  three  stories  of  brick,  and  two  attic  stories  of  wood  and 
slate.  Its  foundation  stone  was  laid  July  4th,  186S,  and  was 
sufficiently  completed  to  receive  its  inmates  November  1, 
1860.    It  is  admirably  adapted  to  its  use,  and  cost  over 


ROMAN  CATHOLIC  PROTECTORY  (GIRLS"  BUILDING). 


$200,000,  though  it  is  but  about  half  the  size  of  the  original 
design.  The  cut  represents  the  building  as  it  is,  whereas  the 
one  in  the  City  Manual  presents  the  one  in  prospect.  The 
basement  contains  the  kitchen,  dining  room,  laundry,  furnace- 
room  for  heating  the  building,  etc.  The  cooking  is  done  with 
steam.  The  first  floor  contains  reception  rooms,  offices, 
work-rooms,  etc. ;  the  second  is  divided  into  a  series  of 
school-rooms,  with  folding  partitions,  so  arranged  that  the 
whole  can  be  thrown  into  a  vast  hall  for  religious  exercises, 
with  seating  for  two  thousand  persons.  The  third  floor  is 
the  dormitory,  with  three  hundred  and  fifty  beds,  a  row  of 
cells  being  constructed  at  each  end  of  the  room  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  Sisters.  The  fourth  floor  is  divided  into 
several  dormitories  arranged  for  hospital  purposes,  with  baths 
and  closets,  and  is  supplied  witli  hot  and  cold  water.  The 
1ifth  is  for  storage.  The  management  of  the  girls'  depart- 
ment is  committed  to  the  Sisters  of  Charity  of  Mount  Saint 
Vincent  Convent,  twelve  of  whom,  when  we  visited  the  Insti- 


SOCIETY  FOR  PROTECTION  OF  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHILDREN.  353 


tntion,  had  charge  of  its  family  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
girls,  and  taught  all  branches  of  study  and  toil,  except  a  few 
iutricacies  of  skirt-making  and  handicraft.  The  girls,  like 
the  boys,  are  nearly  all  received  from  the  courts,  as  vagrants 
or  criminals,  are  ignorant  and  spoiled  children,  and  make 
large  demands  on  the  patience  of  their  teachers.  Their  new 
building  has  accommodations  for  six  hundred  inmates,  which 
will  doubtless  soon  be  filled  without  making  any  appreciable 
change  in  the  seething  masses  of  the  great  city.  Skirt-making 
is  the  principal  employment  of  the  girls,  each  being  taught 
every  part  of  the  business,  and  each  in  turn  takes  her  part  in 
the  duties  of  the  kitchen,  laundry,  and  chamber.  During 
the  first  seven  years  of  its  operations  the  society  received  over 
three  thousand  five  hundred  truant  children,  many  of  whom 
have  been  recovered  from  a  life  of  crime,  and  now  bid  fair 
to  be  industrious  and  good  citizens.  Its  work,  however,  has 
but  just  begun. 

The  buildings  are  large  and  beautiful,  but  everything 
around  and  within  gives  evidence  of  great  economy.  But 
while  the  children  at  the  Ilouse  of  Refuge  are  supported  at 
an  annual  expense  of  less  than  seventy  dollars  per  capita  above 
their  own  toil,  the  managers  of  this  Institution  declared  that 
during  1867  the  net  cost  of  maintaining  the  boys,  exclusive  of 
their  own  labor,  the  interest  on  land,  buildings,  etc.,  was  one 
hundred  and  thirteen  dollars  per  head,  and  ninety-six  dollars 
for  the  girls.  The  entire  expenditures  of  the  Societv,  up  to 
January,  1868,  amounted  to  §469,034.02,  of  which  $164,807.49 
had  been  given  by  State  and  city  grants,  the  remaining 
$304,226.53  having  been  provided  by  private  donations,  the 
labor  of  the  children,  and  by  public  fairs,  one  of  which,  in 
1867,  yielded  a  profit  of  over  $100,000.  We  have  been  unable 
to  obtain  the  last  published  report  of  the  Society. 

The  principal  motive  in  founding  the  Institution  was  to 
save  the  children  of  Catholics  from  the  influence  of  Protest- 
antism, which  prevailed  in  most  other  institutions.  It,  how- 
ever, makes  no  attempt  to  proselyte,  and  has  refused  to  receive 
some  children  who  had  Protestant  parents  or  guardians.  The 
farm  cost  $60,000,  and  is  now  valued  at  $150,000.  A  dairy 
of  forty  cows  is  kept,  and  most  of  the  vegetables  consumed 
are  grown  on  the  premises.  The  girls'  building  was  destroyed 
by  fire  in  1 872. 


THE  NEW  YORK  FOUNDLING  ASYLUM. 


(Lexington  avenue  and  Sixty-eighth  street.) 

tOIJNDLING  hospitals  have  been  common  in  many 
countries  of  Europe  for  several  centuries.  The  first 
is  believed  to  have  been  established  at  Milan,  in  the 
year  787.  In  the  seventeenth  century  they  were 
placed  on  a  common  footing  with  other  hospitals  in  France, 
and  in  the  following  century  they  were  established  in  England. 
More  than  one  hundred  and  forty  are  said  to  exist  in  France 
at  this  time,  two  in  Holland,  seventeen  in  Belgium,  many  in 
Prussia,  one  of  which  covers  an  area  of  twenty-eight  acres. 
The  Child's  Hospital  of  New  York  has  received  many  of 
these  stray  waifs  of  humanity  for  several  years  past,  yet  an 
Institution  devoted  exclusively  to  this  class,  founded  and  man- 
aged on  the  most  open  and  liberal  scale,  has  been  considered 
necessary  by  many,  and  has  finally  been  established. 

The  INew  York  Foundling  Asylum  was  incorporated  Octo- 
ber 9,  1869,  and  a  hired  brick  edifice,  No.  17  East  Twelfth 
street,  was  opened  two  days  later,  by  the  Sisters  of  Charity 
connected  with  the  convent  of  Mount  Saint  Vincent,  near 
Yonkers.  Sister  Mary  Irene  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
Institution,  and  has  since  been  assisted  by  ten  other  members 
of  the  order.  The  first  child  was  left  at  the  Institution  on  the 
22d  of  October,  1869,  and  up  to  the  25th  of  April,  1871,  nine- 
teen hundred  and  sixty  had  been  received,  sixty-two  per  cent, 
of  whom  had  died.  The  Institution  was  at  length  removed  to 
No.  3  North  Washington  square,  into  a  large  building  contain- 
ing twenty-eight  fine  rooms,  where  it  will  remain  until  the 
Hospital  is  erected.  A  cradle  is  placed  in  the  vestibule  where 
the  little  stranger  is  silently  deposited,  and  a  ring  of  the  bell 
announces  its  presence.  They  are  brought  in  by  physicians, 
nurses,  midwives,  and  mothers,  at  all  hours  of  day  and  night. 
The  children  are  numbered  according  to  their  admission  ;  their 
names  and  those  of  their  parents,  if  known,  are  entered  in  a 
large  book  kept  for  that  purpose,  but  if  nothing  is  known  of 
them  they  are  named  by  the  Sisters.  Sometimes  a  letter  ac- 
companies a  child,  the  contents  of  which  are  entered  with  the 
number  and  name  of  the  infant.  Sometimes  a  ring,  a  ribbon, 
or  some  other  little  valuable  by  which  it  may  hereafter  be  iden- 


Hospital  of  Saint  Francis.    (East  Fifth  Struct,  bet.  Avenues  A  &  B.) 


THE  NEW  YORK  FOUNDLEN"G  ASYLUM. 


355 


rified  accompanies  it ;  these  are  all  numbered  and  preserved. 
Infants  are  taken  without  charge  or  fee,  without  regard  to 
color,  nationality,  or  parentage.  No  questions  are  asked  unless 
there  is  a  disposition  to  communicate,  and  statements  made 
are  not  disclosed.  The  cradles  are  long,  with  a  babe  at  each 
end,  and  an  attendant  to  every  three  children  or  a  little  less, 
some  of  whom  are  on  duty  in  every  room  at  all  hours  of  day 
and  night.  The  author  looked  through  the  several  apart- 
ments at  the  half-a-hundred  little  creatures  scattered  in  cribs, 
on  the  floor,  in  the  arms  of  the  nurses,  some  laughing,  some 
crying,  some  asleep  in  blissful  ignorance  of  the  clouds  that 
darken  their  infant  horizon,  and  concluded  there  were 
as  many  handsome  babies  among  them  as  could  be  selected 
from  an  equal  number  in  any  community.  Children  are 
given  out  to  healthy  women  to  nurse,  who  are  remunerated  at 
the  rate  of  ten  dollars  per  month.  These  nurses  are  required 
to  bring  the  children  to  the  Institution  twice  each  month  for 
inspection,  and  are  frequently  visited  at  their  homes  by  the 
Sisters.  The  Sisters  refuse  to  adopt  them  even  in  the  best 
families,  which  we  pronounce  a  decided  mistake.  Certainly, 
if  charity  to  the  children  only  influenced  the  movement, 
nothing  better  could  be  hoped  for  than  to  see  them  adopted 
into  respectable  families. 

During  the  last  year  a  part  of  the  children  have  been  housed 
at  West  Farms,  the  house  in  the  city  serving  as  a  place  of  re- 
ception. More  than  four  hundred  different  women  have  been 
employed  as  nurses,  and  the  superioress  reports  the  expendi- 
tures of  the  Institution  as  exceeding  §6,000  per  month. 

The  city  authorities  last  year  leased  the  Asylum,  for  ninety- 
nine  years,  for  the  annual  rental  of  one  dollar,  a  plot  of 

§ round  two  hundred  by  four  hundred  feet,  lying  between 
ixty -eighth  and  Sixty-ninth  streets,  and  fronting  on  Lexing- 
ton avenue.  The  tax  levy  of  1S70  also  contained  a  clause 
granting  the  managers  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  toward 
the  erection  of  buildings  as  soon  as  a  similar  sum  should  be 
collected  by  private  subscription. 

A  grand  metropolitan  fair  was  accordingly  planned  and 
held  in  the  Twenty-second  Regiment  Armory  hall  during 
November,  1870,  the  proceeds  of  which  amounted  to  over 
$71,000.  Mrs.  R  B.  Connolly  also  collected  $20,575,  which, 
with  some  other  subscriptions,  brought  the  sum  to  the  required 
figure,  so  that  the  legislative  appropriation  became  available. 
This  Foundling  Hospital  is  now  rapidly  rising  to  completion. 


356 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


The  Sisters  are  very  enthusiastic  about  their  enterprise.  Pre- 
cisely what  effect  the  establishment  of  this  Institution  will 
have  upon  the  dissolute  portion  of  society  is  yet  to  be  seen ; 
but  that  the  crime  of  infanticide  has  been  already  greatly 
lessened  appears  from  the  police  statistics.  From  one  hun- 
dred to  one  hundred  and  fifty  dead  infants  per  month  were 
before  the  opening  of  this  Institution  found  in  barrels  and 
vacant  lots,  in  various  parts  of  the  city,  whereas  not  more 
than  one-tenth  of  that  number  are  now  reported.  That  it 
will  greatly  increase  the  social  crime,  we  hardly  believe.  This 
has  existed  in  all  ages,  unawed  by  shame,  law,  and  other  con- 
sequences, and  will  only  decrease  as  the  principles  of  a  pure 
religion  are  more  generally  and  more  thoroughly  imbibed. 


THE  SHEPHERD'S  FOLD. 

(Eighty -sixth  street  and  Second  avenue.) 

j  1  |f  HIS  association,  composed  of  members  of  the  Protest- 
4J§  ant  Episcopal  church,  was  incorporated  under  the 
general  act  of  April  12,  1848,  on  the  ninth  day  of 
March,  1868.  The  object  of  the  society,  as  set  forth 
in  the  certificate  of  incorporation,  is  "  The  care  of  orphan, 
half-orphan,  and  otherwise  friendless  children."  The  object 
is  similar  to  that  of  the  "  Sheltering  Arms,"  to  provide  for  a 
class  of  children  who,  through  drunkenness,  desertion,  crime, 
or  other  causes,  are  practically  parentless,  yet  excluded  by 
rule  from  regular  Orphan  Asylums.  The  management  of 
the  Institution  is  committed  to  a  board  of  twenty-one  trustees, 
nearly  half  of  whom  are  ministers.  The  internal  manage- 
ment of  the  house  is  under  the  immediate  supervision  of  an 
association  of  ladies,  who  report  monthly  to  the  executive 
committee  appointed  by  the  trustees.  Children  are  admitted 
at  any  age  between  twelve  months  and  fifteen  years,  but 
must  be  surrendered  to  the  Institution  at  admission,  unless 
they  are  temporarily  admitted,  to  assist  a  poor  parent,  at  four 
dollars  per  month. 

An  advisory  committee,  consisting  of  two  gentlemen  and 
three  ladies,  meets  every  Monday,  at  three  p.m.,  for  the  ad- 


woman's  aid  society. 


357 


mission  and  indenturing  of  children.  The  operations  of  the 
society  began  in  Twenty-eighth  street,  after  which  the  Insti- 
tution was  removed  to  Second  avenue,  between  Fifty-first 
and  Fifty-second  streets.  On  the  29th  of  April,  1870,  it  was 
again  removed  to  its  present  location,  corner  of  Eighty -sixth 
street  and  Second  avenue,  where  a  three-story  wood  cottage, 
with  a  wing,  was  leased  for  five  years.  The  building  stands 
on  an  eminence  and  is  surrounded  by  ample  grounds,  with  a 
broad  lawn  in  front  overspread  with  the  branches  of  noble 
trees.  The  location  is  both  healthful  and  beautiful,  affording 
abundant  space  for  the  recreation  of  the  children.  The 
managers  hope  to  secure  the  means  and  purchase  the  prop- 
erty, after  which  they  purpose  to  erect  buildings  similar  to 
those  known  as  the  Colored  Orphan  Asylum.  The  city 
authorities  gave  them  last  year  $5,000,  which  sum  has  been 
set  apart  as  the  beginning  of  a  building  fund.  The  Institu- 
tion has  at  present  sixty-three  children,  all  it  can  well  accom- 
modate. The  matron,  Mrs.  Russell,  has  great  skill  and  kind- 
ness in  the  management  of  children ;  and  the  teacher,  Miss 
"Welsh,  has  managed  to  throw  such  a  charm  around  the 
school-room  that  many  of  the  children  prefer  their  lessons  to 
play.  May  the  Institution  prosper,  gathering  thousands  into 
its  elevating  fold  who  would  otherwise  ramble  in  ignorance 
and  infamy,  proving  a  sorrow  to  themselves  and  a  scourge  to 
society. 


WOMAN'S  AID  SOCIETY  AND   HOME   FOR   TRAINING  YOUNG 

GIRLS. 

(Corner  Thirteenth  street  and  Seventh  avenue.) 

2  ¥  Hi  SIS  organization  was  first  known  as  the  "Women's 
Evangelical  Mission,"  and  was  formed  to  operate  for 
the  recovery  of  young  women  in  our  public  institu- 
tions, and  for  other  fallen  women  who  needed  assist- 
ance in  their  efforts  for  reformation.    At  a  later  period  it 
was  changed  to  a  home  for  training  young,  indigent,  and 
inexperienced  girls  for  places  of  respectability  and  useful- 
ness, and  the  class  the  managers  first  sought  to  reach  have 
been  entirely  excluded.    The  inmates  received  are  between 

22 


358 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


the  ages  of  thirteen  and  twenty-five,  with  a  few  exceptional 
cases.  Many  of  those  received  during  the  last  three  years 
have  been  orphans,  or  friendless  girls  exhausted  by  hard 
service,  and  nearly  ready  to  perish.  In  this  Home  their 
health  has  been  recruited,  their  morals  improved,  a  situation 
in  a  Christian  family  in  city  or  country  has  been  provided, 
where  they  have  gone  with  better  prospects. 

All  persons  admitted  as  inmates  must  pledge  to  obey  the 
rules  of  the  house,  to  remain  a  month,  and  accept  of  such 
situations  on  leaving  as  the  matron  shall  approve.  The 
Society  is  governed  by  a  board  of  female  managers,  members 
of  the  several  Evangelical  churches,  nearly  all  of  whom  thus 
far  have  represented  the  Presbyterian  and  Reformed  Dutch. 
The  missionary  and  chaplain  is  an  Evangelical  minister, 
whose  duty  it  is  to  preach  on  the  island,  if  necessary,  besides 
conducting  the  services  of  the  Home.  From  May,  1868,  to 
1870,  the  Home  was  situated  at  the  foot  of  Eighty-third 
street,  East  river,  in  a  fine  old  family  mansion,  with  invit- 
ing groves,  ample  and  well-arranged  grounds.  The  location 
was  one  of  the  most  retired,  airy,  and  salubrious  on  the 
island.  The  number  of  inmates  has  varied  from  twenty- 
four  to  thirty-six  during  the  past  three  years,  152  being  the 
total  for  the  year  closing  in  1869,  and  114  for  the  year  end- 
ing in  1870.  During  the  year  closing  January,  1871,  the 
managers  report  188  admissions,  141  of  whom  were  placed 
in  families,  seven  returned  to  friends,  nine  sent  to  other 
institutions,  eight  were  dismissed,  six  left  at  their  own 
request,  and  fifteen  remained.  Some  were  inexperienced 
young  girls,  members  of  good  families,  but,  chafing  under 
necessary  parental  restraint,  had  sought  relief  in  flight.  The 
managers  had  picked  them  up  j  ust  in  time  to  save  them. 

The  Home  is  now  situated  at  No.  41  Seventh  avenue,  cor- 
ner of  Thirteenth  street,  where  a  four-story  brick  house  has 
been  leased  for  three  years,  at  an  annual  rental  of  $2,000. 
The  building  affords  accommodations  for  about  thirty  in- 
mates.   A  school  is  conducted  every  afternoon. 

The  Society  was  incorporated  under  the  general  act  passed 
April  12,  1848,  on  the  twenty-fifth  day  of  November,  1870. 

The  expenditures  of  the  Institution  during  the  last  year 
amounted  to  $7,180.76.  Eev.  W.  A.  Masker  is  the  chaplain 
and  superintendent,  and  Mrs.  Masker  the  matron. 


ST.  JOSEPH  ORPHAN  ASYLUM. 


{Corner  of  Eighty-ninth  street  and  Avenue  A. 

St.  Joseph  Orphan  Asylum  was  incorporated  by 
^JM?  special  act  of  the  Legislature  in  1859.  It  was  founded 
i^^jl  through  the  laudable  toil  and  zeal  of  Rev.  Fathei 
Joseph  Helmpraecht,  a  Roman  Catholic  priest.  The 
building  was  erected  in  1860,  and  is  a  five-story  brick,  eighty 
by  forty  feet,  fronting  on  Eighty-ninth  street,  at  the  corner  of 
*  Avenue  A.  The  stories  of  the  building  are  rather  low.  The 
object  of  the  Institution  is  the  support  and  education  of  or- 
phans, half-orphans,  destitute  and  neglected  children,  con- 
nected with  the  Roman  Catholic  faith  and  of  German  origin. 
The  number  of  inmates  averages  about  one  hundred  and 
sixty,  and  the  capacity  of  the  Asylum  is  equal  to  about  two 
hundred  inmates. 

The  office  of  the  Asylum  and  secretary  is  at  No.  70  East 
Fourth  street. 


THE  ROOSEVELT  HOSPITAL. 

( West  Fifty-ninth  street.) 


This  Institution  was  founded  and  endowed  by  the  bequest 
of  the  late  James  H.  Roosevelt,  Esq.,  of  New  York  city.  This 
gentleman  inherited  a  fine  estate  from  his  parents,  which  he 
very  materially  increased  during  his  lifetime,  and  finally 
bequeathed  it  to  the  founding  of  one  of  the  most  humane  and 
excellent  chanties  of  the  world.  During  his  early  years  he 
pursued  the  study  of  law,  graduating  with  honor  after  pac- 
ing the  usual  course  at  Columbia  College.  Some  time  after 
ins  graduation  he  was  admitted  to  practice,  and  expected  to 
marry  Miss  Julia  Maria  Boardman,  an  estimable  lady  of  this 
city.  But  one  month  had  scarcely  elapsed,  after  his  admissi*  m 
to  practise  law,  ere  he  was  smitten  with  a  stroke  of  paralysis 
so  severe  as  to  entirely  frustrate  his  most  cherished  earthly 
plans,  and  render  him  an  invalid  for  life.  For  more  than 
thirty  years  he  could  only  walk  with  the  aid  of  crutches, 


THE  ROOSEVELT  HOSPITAL. 


361 


spending  most  of  the  time  at  his  residence  in  New  York,  shut 
out  by  his  infirmities  from  the  chief  circles  of  business  and 
fashion.  During  these  years  he  gave  quiet  attention  to  the 
improvement  of  his  fortune,  to  books,  and  the  cultivation  of 
those  tempers  so  invaluable  in  time  and  eternity.  Though 
he  never  married,  the  most  affectionate  relation  subsisted  be- 
tween him  and  the  lady  of  his  early  choice  through  all  his 
years,  to  whom  he  left  at  death,  which  occurred  in  November, 
1863,  an  annuity  of  $4,000,  making  her  also  the  executrix  of 
his  estate.  His  estate  at  his  death,  which  approximated  a 
million,  and  has  since  been  much  increased,  consisted  in  real 
estate  situated  in  New  York  and  Westchester  counties,  and 
in  valuable  and  available  stocks.  A  sufferer  through  most  of 
his  life,  his  mind  was  naturally  drawn  out  in  sympathy  for 
those  as  afflicted  as  himself,  and  whose  condition  was  even 
more  pitiable  because  destitute  of  the  means  of  comfort  he 
enjoyed.  Most  of  his  personal  estate  he  therefore  left  "in 
trust  to  the  several  and  successive  presidents  ex  officio,  for  the 
time  being,  of  the  respective  managing  boards  of  those  five 
certain  incorporations  in  the  city  of  New  York,  known  as 
'The  Society  of  the  New  York  Hospital,'  'The  College  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons,'  '  The  New  York  Eye  Infirmary,' 
'  The  Demilt  Dispensary,'  and  '  The  New  York  Institution 
for  the  Blind,'  and  to  the  Honorable  James  I.  Roosevelt, 
Edwin  Clark,  Esq.,  John  M.  Knox,  Esq.,  and  Adrian  H.  Mul- 
ler,_Esq.,  all  of  New  York,  for  the  establishment,  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  of  a  hospital  for  the  reception  and  relief  of  sick 
and  diseased  persons,  and  for  its  permanent  endowment." 
This  board  of  nine  trustees  has  sole  charge  of  the  Institution 
and  its  endowment,  and  has  power  to  fill  all  vacancies  occur- 
ring from  death,  resignation,  or  otherwise,  of  any  of  the  four 
trustees  not  before  designated  by  title  of  office,  from  male 
native-born  citizens,  residents  of  the  city  of  New  York.  The 
use  of  his  real  estate  he  bequeathed  to  his  nephew,  James  C. 
Roosevelt  Brown,  of  Rye,  N.  Y.,  the  same  to  be  also  divided 
equally  between  his  heirs,  but  in  case  of  his  or  their  demise 
without  lawful  issue,  then  the  same  was  to  be  disposed  of  by 
his  executors,  and  the  proceeds  added  to  the  Hospital  endow- 
ment. This  nephew  survived  him  but  forty  days,  and  died 
without  issue,  leaving  the  property  to  the  Institution  to  which 
his  uncle  had  devoted  it. 

The  act  incorporating  the  Roosevelt  Hospital  was  passed 
by  the  Legislature  February  2,  1864,  granting  the  corpora- 


362 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


tion  power  to  receive  the  legacy,  and  any  others  that  might 
be  added,  to  purchase  and  hold  property  free  from  taxation 
in  carrying  out  the  directions  of  the  founder  of  the  Institu- 
tion. In  1868  a  whole  block  of  ground  was  purchased  lying 
between  Fifty-eighth  and  Fifty-ninth  streets,  Ninth  and  Tenth 
avenues,  for  the  sum  of  $185,000.  This  ground  is  now  valued 
at  $400,000.  The  corner-stone  of  the  Hospital  was  laid  on 
the  last  day  of  October,  1869,  Rev.  Thomas  De  Witt,  D.D., 
Edward  Delafield,  M.D.,  and  other  distinguished  gentlemen, 
taking  part  in  the  services.  When  the  usual  contributions  of 
papers,  etc.,  had  been  placed  in  the  corner-stone,  Dr.  Delafield, 
president  of  the  board,  moved  it  to  its  place,  saying,  "  I  now 
lay  the  corner-stone  of  the  Roosevelt  Hospital,  and  may  cen- 
turies pass  before  what  is  deposited  here  will  again  be  re- 
vealed to  mortal  eye." 

The  Hospital  fronts  on  Fifty-ninth  street,  and  is  to  consist,  if 
the  plan  is  ever  entirely  completed,  of  four  pavilions,  each 
one  hundred  and  seventy  feet  long  by  thirty  wide  in  the  cen- 
tral part  forming  the  wards,  and  a  front  of  fifty-six  feet  on 
Fifty-ninth  street.  The  pavilions  are  to  be  three  stories 
high,  of  brick,  with  rich  stone  trimmings,  above  a  high 
stone  basement,  covered  with  Mansard  roof.  The  wards 
are  each  thirty  feet  wide  by  ninety-three  long,  and 
fifteen  feet  high,  arranged  for  twenty-eight  patients  each, 
affording  1,494  cubic  feet  of  space  to  each.  The  base- 
ment of  the  one  now  erected  contains  an  ophthalmic,  a 
children's,  and  an  accident  ward,  and  some  small  rooms  for 
delirious  patients.  The  main  stairways  are  all  to  be  of  iron 
and  stone.  Ventilating  shafts  are  to  be  placed  at  the  end  of 
each  ward,  to  carry  off  foul  air  and  introduce  fresh.  The 
lavatories,  supplied  with  vapor  baths,  shower  baths,  basins, 
etc.,  are  situated  at  the  southern  end  of  the  pavilions,  sepa- 
rated from  the  wards  by  wide  halls.  In  the  center  of  the  block 
fronting  on  Fifty-ninth  street  is  the  administration  building, 
through  which  is  the  entrance  to  the  Hospital.  This  building 
contains  the  offices  and  apartments  for  officers,  the  apothecary 
room,  chemical  laboratory,  etc.  In  the  rear  of  this  stands 
another  separate  building,  containing  the  kitchen,  laundry,  the 
heating  and  ventilating  apparatus.  This  and  the  pavilion 
before  described  are  now  completed  and  the  other  central 
pavilion  and  the  administration  building  will  soon  follow, 
furnishing  accommodations  for  three  hundred  patients,  and 
costing  about  $600,000.    These  can  be  completed,  leaving  an 


THE  ROOSEVELT  HOSPITAL. 


363 


endowment  fund  of  at  least  $600,000  for  the  support  of  the 
Institution.  It  is  likely  that  this  is  as  far  as  the  building 
plan  will  be  carried,  unless  other  legacies  are  added  to  the 
enterprise.  The  site  is  an  elevated  and  beautiful  one  over- 
looking the  Hudson,  and  as  most  of  the  hospitals  have  been 
erected  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  island,  the  selection  appears 
to  have  been  well  made.  The  locality  will  soon  be  crowded 
with  a  dense  population,  that  will  need  the  liberal  provisions 
of  this  generous  benefactor. 

The  Hospital  was  opened  for  the  reception  of  patients 
November  2,  1871.  Nearly  two  thousand  patients  have 
already  been  treated.  (1873.) 


THE  PRESBYTERIAN  HOSPITAL  IN  THE  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


(East  Seventieth  street.) 

On  the  second  day  of  January,  1868,  Mr.  James  Lenox,  a 
distinguished  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  New 
York,  addressed  a  circular  letter  to  a  number  of  gentlemen 
of  his  own  denomination,  setting  forth  the  fact  that  while 
the  Jews,  the  Germans,  the  Roman  Catholics,  and  the  Epis- 
copalians had  each  established  a  hospital  for  themselves,  the 
large  and  influential  body  of  Presbyterians  had  undertaken 
nothing  of  the  kind.  The  envelope  contained  the  draft  of 
an  act  of  incorporation,  and  of  a  constitution.  The  circular 
further  declared  that  a  large  and  eligible  plot  of  ground, 
and  funds  to  the  amount  of  $100,000,  would  be  made  over  to 
the  managers  if  the  enterprise  were  undertaken.  The  gen- 
tlemen addressed  were  severally  invited  to  act  as  managers, 
and  informed  that  a  public  meeting  would  be  called  to  fully 
inaugurate  the  movement  as  soon  as  their  concurrence  was 
secured.  The  letter,  with  its  munificent  proposals,  received 
prompt  and  encouraging  replies,  and  on  the  13th  of  January, 
18G8,  a  meeting  of  these  gentlemen  was  held  in  the  lecture 
room  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church,  when  a  temporary 
organization  was  effected.  On  the  28th  of  February,  1868, 
the  Legislature  passed  the  act  of  incorporation,  authorizing 
the  Institution  to  hold  real  estate  and  personal  property  to 


THE  PRESBYTERIAN  HOSPITAL. 


365 


any  amount,  free  from  taxation.  On  the  26th  day  of  March, 
the  board  of  managers  maturely  considered  and  accepted  the 
charter,  elected  their  officers,  Mr.  Lenox  being  chosen  Presi- 
dent, and  the  Presbyterian  Hospital  became  a  corporate  In- 
stitution. On  the  17th  of  June,  Mr.  Lenox  conveyed  in  due 
form  to  the  board  of  managers,  for  Hospital  uses,  the  block  of 
ground  lying  between  Seventieth  and  Seventy-first  streets, 
Fourth  and  Madison  avenues,  valued  at  two  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars,  to  which  he  added  the  princely  sum  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  in  money,  paying  the 
exorbitant  governmental  succession  tax  on  the  transfer  of  the 
property  of  twelve  thousand  dollars.  The  site  so  generously 
contributed  is  ample  in  extent,  in  the  vicinity  of  Central 
Park,  and  is  considered  one  of  the  most  salubrious  and  eli- 
gible on  the  island.  The  recent  developments  in  medical 
science  and  hospital  hygiene  have  so  greatly  modified 
former  theories  that,  by  protracted  consideration  of  the  sub- 
ject, the  managers  hope  to  avoid  the  mistakes  into  which 
others  have  fallen.  The  sum  of  $1,300  was  expended  in  ob- 
taining designs  from  several  distinguished  architects,  and  the 
one  adopted  it  is  believed  will  secure  all  known  advantages. 
The  Hospital,  which  is  partly  completed,  consists  of  three 
pavilions,  an  administration  building,  and  a  boiler-house,  all 
connected  in  the  basement,  first  and  second  stories,  by  corri- 
dors of  light  construction.  All  the  buildings  (except  the 
boiler-house)  are  three  stories  high,  and  attic  in  Mansard  roof , 
with  accommodations  for  three  hundred  patients. 

The  first  story  and  attic  will  be  twelve  feet  high,  respect- 
ively ;  the  height  of  the  second  and  third  stories  will  be  four- 
teen feet  and  six  inches  in  the  clear.  The  basement  story  of 
pavilions  will  be  devoted  to  the  accommodation  of  hot-air 
chambers,  engine-rooms,  fan-rooms,  etc.  The  first  floors  of 
pavilions  will  be  occupied  by  private  wards,  with  all  their 
necessary  accessories,  while  the  three  upper  stories  will  con- 
tain the  public  wards. 

A  spacious  and  well-lighted  amphitheater  (for  surgical  op- 
erations) will  occupy  the  third  and  fourth  stories  of  the  mid- 
dle portion  of  the  north  pavilion  in  the  rear.  The  dead-rooms 
will  be  located  in  vaulted  chambers,  just  outside,  and  in  the 
rear  of  this  pavilion.  The  administration  building,  one  of 
the  three  central  buildings,  fifty  feet  by  ninety-two  feet,  has 
the  middle  portion  projecting,  in  order  to  gain  a  carriage- 
porch  to  main  entrance,  above  which  is  located  the  chapel 


366 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


with  its  spire.  Side-entrance  porches  are  also  provided. 
The  basement  of  this  building  contain  the  kitchen  (which 
extends  through  to  the  second  floor),  the  bakery,  scullery, 
larder,  ice,  bread,  and  store  rooms. 

Special  care  has  been  given  to  the  subjects  of  heating  and 
ventilation.  The  wards  are  heated  by  indirect  radiation  ;  the 
remainder  by  direct  radiation.  The  outer  walls  of  pavilions 
are  double,  with  an  air-space  between  them.  The  ventilating 
and  heating  flues  of  glazed  earthen-pipe  are  built  in  the  inner 
wall,  having  openings  provided  with  controlling  registers  at 
the  top,  bottom,  and  midway  between  the  floor  and  the  ceil- 
ing of  the  rooms.  The  fresh  air  is  conducted  through  shafts 
from  the  top  of  the  buildings  to  the  fan-room  in  the  base- 
ment, whence  it  is  driven  to  the  coil-chambers,  which  supply 
the  air  to  rooms  above.  Other  flues  conduct  the  foul  air  to 
the  lofts  above  attic  stories,  where  they  all  unite  in  spacious 
ventilating  lanterns,  heated  by  steam -coils.  The  windows, 
extending  from  three  feet  above  the  floor  to  the  ceiling,  are 
provided  with  double  sashes,  for  direct  ventilation,  without 
exposing  the  patients  to  currents  of  air. 

As  regards  the  exterior  elevations,  the  architectural  effect  is 
the  result  obtained  by  accentuating  certain  prominent  feat- 
ures existing  in  the  plan,  in  a  quiet  manner,  and  in  using  the 
materials,  Philadelphia  brick  and  Lockport  limestone,  accord- 
ing to  sound  rules  of  construction. 

To  the  princely  liberality  of  Mr.  Lenox  many  large  and 
small  subscriptions  have  been  added  by  the  friends  of  the 
enterprise  in  New  York,  Messrs.  Robert  L.  &  A.  Stewart  con- 
tributing fully  $50,000.  The  Hospital  will  probably  be  ded- 
icated free  from  debt,  but  with  inadequate  endowment,  leav- 
ing ample  scope  for  the  further  exercise  of  large  liberality. 

The  Presbyterian  Hospital  is  one  of  the  grandest  benevo- 
lent enterprises  of  our  times,  and  eminently  worthy  of  the 
enlightened  and  generous  denomination  that  has  established 
it.  The  annual  reports  of  the  Institution,  replete  with  his- 
toric learning,  are  model  publications  of  their  kind,  and  wor- 
thy of  permanent  preservation. 

(1873.)    The  Institution  was  opened  with  interesting  exer- 
.  cises  October  10,  1872.    An  endowment  fund  of  $250,000 
has  already  been  secured,  half  of  which  was  given  by  Mr. 
Lenox.    About  two  hundred  patients  have  been  received. 


The  Broadway  Tabeknacle— comer  34th  street. 
(Congregationalist— late  Rev.  Dr.  J.  P.  Thompson's  Church.) 


ST.  LUKE'S  HOSPITAL. 


(Fifth  avenue  <md  Fifty-fourth  street.) 

^§pT  the  year  1846  the  Kev.  W.  A.  Mulenberg,  D.D.,  pas- 
^}\)3k  *or  °^  tne  Cnurch  °f  the  Holy  Communion,  deeply  im- 
Presse(^  *ne  neglec^  of  the  church  generally  in 
making  no  adequate  provision  for  her  sick  poor,  and 
believing  that  a  hospital,  conducted  on  more  strictly  religious 
principles  than  any  in  the  city  at  the  time,  was  greatly  needed, 
presented  the  subject  to  his  congregation  at  the  festival  of  St. 
Luke,  and  informed  them  that  with  their  consent  he  would  set 
apart  a  portion  of  their  collection  that  day  toward  the  begin- 
ning of  a  Church  Hospital.  Thirty  dollars  were  accordingly 
laid  aside,  and  on  the  return  of  the  festival  the  next  year  an- 
other collection  was  taken.  A  parochial  institution  only  was 
contemplated  for  several  years,  but  as  the  enterprise  came  to  be 
known  it  met  with  such  unexpected  favor,  that  its  friends  re- 
solved to  lay  the  matter  before  the  Episcopalians  of  the  city 
at  large.  In  the  winter  of  1850  the  two  lectures  previously 
delivered  by  Dr.  Mulenberg  in  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
Communion  Were  repeated  in  St.  Paul's  Chapel,  and  after- 
-wards  printed  and  widely  circulated.   On  the  first  day  of  May, 

1850,  the  St.  Luke's  Hospital  was  incorporated  under  the 
general  act  of  Legislature  passed  April  12,  1848,  committing 
the  control  of  the  Institution  to  thirteen  managers.  In  March, 

1851,  the  Legislature  amended  the  charter,  increasing  the  num- 
ber of  managers  to  thirty-one ;  and  in  February,  1854,  it  was 
again  amended,  granting  the  corporation  permission  to  hold 
personal  estate  to  the  amount  of  $250,000,  and  real  estate  not 
exceeding  §100,000,  over  and  above  the  value  of  buildings 
and  improvements  erected  thereon  for  the  purposes  of  the 
corporation.  About  the  time  of  its  incorporation  the  man- 
agers, proposing  to  carry  out  their  undertaking  on  a  liberal 
scale,  appealed  to  the  public  for  $100,000.  This  amount  was 
soon  subscribed,  and  was  mostly  given  in  large  sums.  An 
eligible  site  of  twenty-four  city  lots,  situated  on  Fifth  avenue 
and  Fifty-fourth  street,  had  been  previously,  for  certain  con- 
siderations on  the  part  of  Trinity  Church,  granted  by  the  city 
corporation  to  the  Church  of  St.  George  the  Martyr,  on  con- 


368 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


dition  that  there  should  be  erected  thereon,  within  three  years 
from  the  date  of  the  grant,  a  hospital  and  free  chapel  for 
British  emigrants.  As  the  buildings  had  not  been  erected, 
and  the  land  was  soon  to  revert  to  the  city,  the  managers  of 
St.  Luke's  applied  to  the  authorities  for  an  extension  of  the 
time,  which  was  finally  granted,  and  after  considerable  negoti- 
ation the  transfer  of  the  title  from  the  Church  of  St.  George 
the  Martyr  was  effected,  on  condition  that  the  corporation  of 
St.  George  should  always  be  entitled  to  a  certain  number  of 
free  beds  in  the  contemplated  Hospital.  Eight  additional 
lots  were  also  purchased  at  an  average  expense  of  $1,500 
each  ;  a  plan  for  the  building  prepared  by  Mr.  John  W.  Ritch 
was  adopted  ;  and  in  May,  1854,  the  corner-stone  of  the  Hos- 
pital was  laid,  with  appropriate  services  conducted  by  Bishop 
Wainwright.  When  the  building  was  begun  the  managers 
only  contemplated  the  erection  of  the  central  edifice  and  one 
wing,  but  they  soon  resolved  to  erect  both  wings,  and  accord- 
ingly appealed  to  the  public  for  an  additional  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars.  On  Ascension  Day,  1857,  the  chapel,  having 
been  completed,  was  opened  for  divine  service ;  and  on  May 
13, 1858,  the  Hospital  proper  was  opened  for  the  reception  of 
patients. 

The  buildings,  which  form  a  narrow  parallelogram  with  a 
wing  at  each  end,  and  a  central  edifice  with  towers,  front  on 
Fifty-fourth  street,  facing  the  south,  extending  longitudinally 
from  east  to  west  two  hundred  and  eighty  feet.  The  eleva- 
tions of  the  several  fronts  are  of  square  red  brick.  The  cen- 
tral building  contains  on  the  first  floor  the  office,  the  examin- 
ation room,  and  appropriate  apartments  for  the  physician  and 
the  superintendent.  On  the  second  floor  is  the  chapel,  the 
distinctive  feature  of  the  Hospital.  This  is  rectangular  in 
form,  eighty-four  by  thirty-four  feet,  with  a  ceiling  forty  feet 
high.  The  roof  is  elliptical,  with  bold  traverse  ribs  resting 
on  corbels.  A  narrow  gallery  extends  around  three  sides  on 
a  level  with  the  floor  of  the  third  story,  and  so  supplements 
the  audience  room  that  several  hundred  persons  are  comfort- 
ably seated  at  the  Sabbath  afternoon  service.  The  wards  ex- 
tend from  the  central  building  in  either  direction,  the  western 
wing  being  devoted  to  the  male,  and  the  eastern  to  the  female 
patients,  respectively.  One  ward  is  also  appropriated  to  chil- 
dren, and  is  a  very  interesting  department.  The  Hospital  has 
spacious  and  airy  corridors  for  the  exercise  of  convalescent 
patients,  bath-rooms,  closets,  and  separate  apartments  for 


st.  luke's  hospital. 


369 


the  treatment  of  the  delirious  or  noisy.  The  buildings  have 
accommodations  for  over  two  hundred  patients,  and  have  cost, 
with  their  furniture,  about  $225,000.  A  rear  building  con- 
tains the  apparatus  for  heating  the  whole  edifice  with  steam, 
the  cooking,  washing,  and  drying  being  performed  by  the 
same  agent.  A  fan  ten  feet  in  diameter  for  ventilating  the 
Hospital  is  also  driven  by  the  same  machinery,  capable  of 
discharging  40,000  cubic  feet  of  air  per  minute.  The  same 
machinery  carries  the  water  to  the  tanks  in  the  attic,  from 
whence  it  is  distributed  through  the  building.  The  projector 
of  the  Institution  early  conceived  that  its  usefulness  would 
be  much  promoted  by  placing  its  wards  under  the  charge  of 
a  band  of  Christian  women.  Under  his  own  pastorate  such 
a  band  had  originated  in  1845,  known  as  the  "  Sisters  of  the 
Holy  Communion,"  being  the  first  community  of  Protestant 
"  Sisters  of  Charity  "  in  this  country.  They  were  accordingly 
fitted  for  the  undertaking.  The  donations  of  a  few  wealthy 
friends  enabled  the  Sisters  in  1851  to  erect  a  dwelling  suited 
to  their  use  adjoining  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Communion  ; 
and  in  1854  the  building  adjoining  their  own  was  rented,  and 
converted  into  an  infirmary,  with  fifteen  beds.  Here  the 
work  of  St.  Luke's  Hospital  began,  and  more  than  two  hun- 
dred patients  were  treated  ere  the  opening  of  the  Institution 
on  Fifty-fourth  street.  The  Sisters  have  had  charge  of  the 
hospital  since  its  opening,  attending  to  its  multiplied  toils 
_with  scrupulous  exactness  through  all  these  years,  with  no 
financial  compensation.  Even  their  apparel  is  furnished  by 
an  arrangement  of  their  own,  so  that  nothing  but  board  is 
received  at  the  Hospital.  No  vows  bind  them  to  their  work 
nor  to  each  ether.  It  is  a  voluntary  association  of  unmarried 
Christian  females,  somewhat  akin  to  the  Lutheran  Deaconesses 
of  Kaiserswerth,  so  well  known  in  the  hospitals  of  Germany 
and  Prussia.  The  Hospital  is  conducted  on  the  principle  of 
a  family.  The  Superintendent,  who  is  also  the  chaplain,  sus- 
taining the  relation  of  father,  and  the  lady  superior  that  of 
mother,  to  the  inmates.  One  ot  the  Sisters  has  charge  of  the 
drug  department,  and  saves  the  Institution  annually  the  wages 
of  an  apothecary. 

The  ministrations  of  the  gospel,  according  to  the  forms  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  are  daily  attended  to. 
Scriptures  and  prayers  are  read  in  each  ward  every  morning, 
and  a  service  is  conducted  every  evening  in  the  chapel,  when 
the  doors  leading  into  the  long  wards  are  thrown  open,  and 


370 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


the  large  organ  breathes  forth  its  melody.  The  regular 
church  service  with  preaching  is  conducted  every  Sabbath 
morning,  and  in  the  afternoon  the  chapel  is  thrown  open  to 
the  inhabitants  of  the  neighborhood,  who  attend  in  large 
numbers  upon  the  preaching  of  the  Word. 

About  nine  thousand  patients  have  been  treated  since  the 
opening  of  the  Hospital,  a  small  fraction  of  whom  only  were 
able  to  pay  their  own  bills. 

More  than  thirty  beds  are  now  supported  by  a  permanent 
endowment  of  $3,000  each,  and  over  a  score  more  by  annual 
subscriptions  of  from  two  hundred  to  three  hundred  dollars 
each.  The  board  of  the  patients  was  long  held  at  four  dol- 
lars per  week,  but  has  since  been  increased  to  seven  dollars 
for  adults,  and  four  dollars  for  children. 

St.  Luke's  Hospital,  situated  in  a  central  and  wealthy 
neighborhood,  with  its  beautifully  cultivated  lawns  and  ele- 
gant surroundings,  if  managed  with  the  courtesy  and  skill 
that  have  hitherto  characterized  it,  will  long  continue  one  of 
the  finest  institutions  of  the  city. 


/ 


NEW  YORK  HOSPITAL. 


New  York  continued  for  many  years  without  any  adequate 
accommodations  for  its  sick  and  disabled  citizens.  Though, 
its  original  city  charter  was  granted  in  1686,  no  serious  effort 
appears  to  have  been  made  toward  providing  a  public  hospital 
until  1770.  The  population  of  the  city  at  that  time  amounted  to 
over  twenty  thousand.  In  that  year  a  number  of  enterprising 
citizens  liberally  signed  and  circulated  a  subscription  for  this 
purpose.  On  the  13th  of  June,  1771,  the  governor  of  the 
colony,  under  George  III.,  granted  a  charter,  in  which  he 
named  the  mayor,  the  recorder,  the  aldermen  and  their  assis- 
tants of  the  city,  the  rector  of  Trinity  Church,  one  minister 
from  each  of  the  other  denominations  then  in  the  city,  the 
president  of  King  (afterwards  Columbia)  College,  and  several 
other  prominent  citizens,  as  members  of  the  corporation. 
Twenty-six  governors  were  also  named  for  the  management 
of  the  business  of  the  society.  The  original  charter  title  was 
the  "Society  of  the  Hospital  in  the  City  of  New  York  in 
America,"  but  by  an  act  in  1810  the  name  was  changed  to 
the  "  Society  of  the  Xew  York  Hospital '  Through  the  efforts- 
of  two  eminent  English  physicians,  Drs.  Fothergill  and  Dun- 

23 


372 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


can,  numerous  contributions  to  the  funds  of  the  society  were 
made  by  persons  of  London  and  elsewhere.  The  following 
year  the  provincial  Legislature  granted  it  an  allowance  of  £800 
($2,000)  per  annum  {or  twenty  years.  Highly  encouraged 
with  these  prospects  of  revenue,  the  governors,  in  1773,  pur- 
chased five  acres  of  ground  in  the  outskirts  of  the  city,  and  be- 
gan the  erection  of  the  edifice.  On  the  27th  of  July,  1773,  the 
foundation  stone  was  laid;  but  on  the  28th  of  February,  1775, 
when  the  structure  was  nearly  completed,  it  was  accidentally 
destroyed  by  fire.  This  sudden  misfortune  inflicted  upon  the 
society  a  loss  of  over  se  venteen  thousand  dollars,  and  would  have 
entirely  paralyzed  its  efforts  had  not  the  Legislature  come  to  its 
assistance  with  a  grant  of  $10,000.  The  toil  of  rebuilding 
began  amid  the  outbursts  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  con- 
tinued until  the  capture  of  New  York  by  the  British,  Sep- 
tember 15,  1776.  For  seven  years  it  was,  in  its  half-fin- 
ished condition,  occupied  by  British  and  Hessian  troops  as 
barracks,  and  occasionally  used  as  a  hospital.  Independence 
having  been  secured,  work  was  resumed,  and  on  January  3, 
1791,  it  was  so  far  completed  that  eighteen  patients  were  ad- 
mitted. Its  colonial  revenue,  of  course,  ceased  with  the 
breaking  out  of  hostilities,  but  in  1788  the  Legislature  directed 
that  $2,000  per  annum  for  four  years  be  paid  to  it  from  the 
excise  funds.  The  funds  of  the  society  were  now  rapidly 
increased  by  donations  from  private  citizens,  and  liberal 
grants  from  the  Legislature.  By  an  act  of  1792,  §5,000  per 
annum  were  granted;  in  1795  the  sum  was  increased  to 
$10,000,  and  the  following  year  to  $15,000 ;  subsequently  it 
was  made  $22,500,  which  amount  was  paid  annually  until 
1857.  An  act  of  1822  exempted  all  the  property  of  the  so- 
ciety from  taxation.  Arrangement  was  made  svith  the 
United  States  Government  in  1799,  which  continued  until 
recently,  whereby  sick  and  disabled  seamen  in  this  port  were 
received,  and  paid  for  by  the  Collector  of  Customs,  at  the  rate 
of  seven  dollars  per  week. 

The  Hospital  stood  until  recently  on  its  original  site,  which 
is  the  most  elevated  and  eligible  one  on  the  lower  part  of  the 
island.  Its  grounds,  which  were  handsomely  laid  out  and 
ornamented  with  choice  shrubbery,  covered  an  entire  block. 
They  are  bounded  by  Broadway  on  the  east,  Church  street 
on  the  west,  on  the  north  by  Worth,  and  on  the  south  by 
Duane  streets. 

The  central  Hospital  was  a  large  convenient  building  of 


NEW  YORK  HOSPITAL. 


373 


gray  stone  in  the  Doric  order,  with  accommodations  for  two 
hundred  patients,  besides  the  numerous  rooms  appropriated 
to  business,  visitors,  surgery,  medicine,  the  resident  officers, 
and  servants.  In  1806,  in  answer  to  a  growing  and  general 
desire,  a  new  building  termed  the  South  Hospital  was  erected 
for  the  treatment  of  insane  patients,  and  devoted  to  this  use 
until  1821,  when  this  branch  was  removed  to  Bloomingdale. 
After  the  removal  of  the  insane  patients,  this  building  was 
devoted  to  the  treatment  of  seamen,  and  termed  the  Marine 
Department.  In  1853  it  was  torn  down,  and  a  splendid  hos- 
pital erected  on  its  site  at  a  cost  of  §140,000,  with  accommo- 
dations for  250  patients.  In  1841,  on  the  opposite  extreme 
of  the  grounds,  had  been  reared  the  North  Hospital,  with 
accommodations  for  100  patients.  From  the  time  of  open- 
ing this  Institution,  in  1792,  to  1856,  it  is  said  that  106,111 
patients  were  admitted,  of  whom  77,390  were  cured,  4,768 
relieved,  and  10,893  died.  The  majority  of  the  latter  were 
brought  in  from  the  streets  in  a  dying  condition.  In  1857 
the  annual  State  appropriation  of  $22,500  ceased  by  statute 
limitation,  after  which  the  Legislature  occasionally  responded 
to  the  urgent  appeals  of  the  governors  with  greatly  reduced 
appropriations,  nothing  being  granted  after  1866.  The  city 
government  refused  any  aid,  and  private  donations  and  be- 
quests were  also  withheld,  through  a  determination  to  force 
the  governors  to  lease  or  sell  the  valuable  grounds  around  the 
-Hospital.  Daring  these  years,  with  the  rapid  increase  of  our 
population,  the  number  of  casualty  patients  correspondingly 
multiplied.  This  Hospital,  situated  so  near  the  crowded  cen- 
tres of  the  metropolis,  had  always  had  the  larger  number  of 
these  unfortunates,  no  one  of  whom  was  ever  rejected,  and 
but  few  of  whom  were  able  to  pay,  however  long  and  expen- 
sive might  be  their  treatment.  The  pay  patients  were  also  re- 
ceived at  little  more  than  half  the  expense  of  their  support. 
The  result  was  that  after  the  withdrawal  of  the  State  annuity 
the  governors  found  their  finances  continually  embarrassed 
and  annually  growing  worse  and  worse.  In  1S64,  witli  much 
effort  $80,000  were  raised  by  subscription  to  relieve  the  over- 
burdened treasury,  but  1868  left  it  still  in  debt  about 
$100,000.  About  that  time  the  governors  decided  to  lease 
the  grounds  and  remove  the  Hospital.  In  March,  1869,  the 
grounds  occupied  by  the  main  building  and  North  Hospital 
were  leased,  and  in  May  the  patients  were  removed  to  the 
South  Hospital,  where  operations  were  continued  until  Feb- 


374: 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


ruary  1st,  1870,  when  the  old  New  York  Hospital  entirely 
suspended.  A  line  of  majestic  business  houses  already  covers 
most  of  the  premises.  The  rent  of  these  grounds,  when  all 
are  leased,  will  probably  amount  to  $200,000  per  annum;  yet 
it  is  saddening  to  see  this  time-honored  Institution,  where 
Dr.  Valentine  Mott  devoted  his  best  attentions  forty-eight 
years,  and  where  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  patients  have 
been  treated,  crowded  into  obscurity,  when  the  suffering  pop- 
ulation needs  its  accommodations  more  than  ever,  because 
more  numerous  than  in  bygone  years.  It  is  probable  that 
another  hospital  will  be  opened  by  the  society  somewhere, 
but  no  plan  has  yet  been  agreed  upon.  The  hospital  library 
and  pathological  cabinet  rank  among  the  finest  of  the  world, 
and  are  annually  receiving  valuable  additions.  The  library 
contains  9,074  volumes.  The  office  of  the  society  is  at  No. 
13  West  Eleventh  street. 


HOSPITAL  OF  SAINT  FRANCIS. 

{East  Fifth  street,  between  Avenues  B  and  C.) 

%M Ij9 HIS  Hospital  was  founded  by  the  "  Sisters  of  the  Poor 
^0|§j  of  St.  Francis  "  (an  order  of  Roman  Catholic  females 
whose  mother  house  is  in  Germany),  in  1865,  and  in 
1866  the  Institution  was  duly  incorporated. 
A  brick  edifice,  fifty  feet  wide  and  four  stories  high,  was 
purchased  in  East  Fifth  street  and  converted  into  a  hospital, 
where  their  operations  were  conducted  until  the  present  sum- 
mer.   Lots  adjoining  this  building  were  purchased  in  1869  at 
a  cost  of  $35,000,  and  a  four-story  brick  structure,  with  a 
front  of  sixty -six  feet,  was  completed  last  May,  at  an  expense 
of  over  $40^000.    After  entering  the  new  building,  the  Sis- 
ters proceeded  to  demolish  and  rebuild  the  old  structure 
immediately  adjoining,  in  the  style  of  the  new  building, 
•  though  they  were  heavily  in  debt  on  the  portion  of  the  struc- 
ture just  completed.    A  small  building  situated  on  East  Sixth 
street,  immediately  opposite  and  connected  with  the  old 
building,  contains  the  patients  of  extreme  age.    With  the 
completion  of  the  buildings  the  Sisters  expect  to  have  wards 


saint  Vincent's  hospital. 


375 


for  over  two  hundred  patients.  Most  of  those  admitted  thus 
far  have  been  German  or  Irish,  though  persons  of  any  na- 
tionality are  received.  The  great  feature  of  the  Institution  is, 
that  it  proposes  to  be  free  to  nearly  all  patients  admitted. 
The  eighteen  Sisters  not  only  propose  to  do  all  the  labor  of 
the  Hospital  with  their  own  hands,  but  to  beg  from  door  to 
door  the  money  to  build  and  support  it.  This  Hospital,  though 
young  and  unknown  to  most  of  our  citizens,  has  received 
from  the  Legislature  from  $5,000  to  $7,000  per  annum.  It 
is  situated  in  a  section  of  the  city  where,  on  the  present  terms, 
it  is  certain  to  be  well  patronized,  and  may  be  a  useful  Insti- 
tution. Two  of  the  Sisters  go  out  incessantly  to  gather  funds 
and  supplies.  They  claim  to  have  treated  eight  hundred 
patients  annually,  thus  far,  but  as  they  have  as  yet  issued  no 
annual  report,  precise  information  in  relation  to  the  Institu- 
tion is  not  easily  obtained. 


SAINT  VINCENT'S  HOSPITAL. 

*&/  ( Comer  of  Eleventh  street  and  Seventh  avenue.) 

im|[|hHE  society  for  the  founding  of  this  Institution  was 
/*JN§S[  organized  in  1849,  and  the  Hospital  opened  the  fol- 
lowing  year.  On  the  13th  of  April,  1857,  it  was  duly 
incorporated  by  act  of  Legislature,  under  the  legal 
title  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  It 
was  first  established  in  Thirteenth  street,  in  a  three-story  brick 
building  so  arranged  as  to  accommodate  thirty  beds.  It 
needed  but  a  short  time  to  make  known  the  existence  of  such 
an  institution  ;  and  very  soon  these  accommodations  became 
insufficient  to  meet  the  increasing  demand.  The  building 
adjoining  was  then  rented  and  fitted  up,  and  room  was  there- 
by secured  for  seventy  beds.  For  a  few  years  this  proved 
sufficient,  but  as  the  Institution  became  more  widely  known, 
even  this  was  found  inadequate,  and  a  larger  building  became 
a  necessity.  Accordingly,  the  present  Hospital,  situated  on  the 
corner  of  Eleventh  street  and  Seventh  avenue,  then  known 
as  the  Half-Orphan  Asylum,  was  rented  and  fitted  up.  This 


376 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


building  required  extensive  alterations  and  repairs,  and  was 
also  soon  found  too  small.  In  1856  the  Sisters  held  a  fair  in 
the  Crystal  Palace  and  realized  the  handsome  sum  of  thirty- 
four  thousand  dollars.  Their  treasury  being  thus  replenished, 
they  purchased  two  adjoining  lots,  and  erected  a  large  wing 
to  their  building.  In  1860  a  Floral  Festival  was  held  in  the 
Palace  Gardens,  and  a  sum  of  nearly  twelve  thousand  dollars 
was  realized.  The  same  year  an  adjoining  lot  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  main  building  was  purchased,  and  another  wing 
erected.  The  Hospital  is  situated  on  high  and  dry  ground,  in 
a  comparatively  retired  and  quiet  portion  of  that  thickly- 
populated  part  of  the  city.  It  is  three  stories  high,  with  base- 
ment, presenting  a  front  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  on 
Eleventh  street,  the  grounds  extending  through  to  Twelfth, 
furnishing  an  ample  rear  yard  for  the  exercise  of  convales- 
cents. The  Hospital  now  contains  one  hundred  and  fifty  beds, 
with  space  for  more  if  circumstances  should  so  require.  It 
is  divided  into  five  well-regulated  wards,  besides  which  there 
are  several  well-furnished  private  apartments  for  the  use  of 
persons  who  require  special  accommodations  or  care. 

To  clergymen  or  other  persons  stopping  at  hotels,  or  to 
strangers  of  means,  overtaken  suddenly  with  disease,  these 
rooms  offer  peculiar  advantages,  combining  the  comforts  of  a 
home  with  the  advice  and  treatment  of  the  Hospital. 

The  operating  theatre  connected  with  the  surgical  ward  is 
on  the  third  floor  of  the  left  wing,  the  room  being  furnished 
with  a  fine  skylight  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  windows. 
The  entire  management  of  the  Institution  is  conducted  by 
fifteen  of  the  Sisters,  no  female  help  being  employed,  and 
no  male  except  the  Board  of  Physicians,  and  a  nurse  in  each 
of  the  male  wards.  The  entire  edifice  is  heated  with  steam, 
and  watched  over  with  scrupulous  tidiness  in  every  part, 
though  on  account  of  its  piecemeal  construction  it  is  sadly 
wanting  in  that  general  design  which  facilitates  labor  in  its 
management. 

The  design  of  the  society  at  its  organization  was  to  make 
it  a  self-supporting  Institution ;  hence  it  existed  several  years 
without  any  legal  incorporation,  or  asking  any  grants  from 
the  city  or  State.  But  the  multitude  of  charity  patients  that 
annually  knocked  at  its  doors  induced  the  managers  to  recon- 
sider and  finally  change  the  nature  of  their  enterprise. 

In  1863  the  Common  Council  granted  the  Hospital  $1,000, 
in  1864,  $1,000,  in  1865,  $2,000,  in  1867,  $2,000,  in  1868, 


saint  Vincent's  hospital. 


377 


$3,000.  The  Board  of  Public  Charities,  in  1867,  also  gave 
it  $1,000.  The  last  Legislature  gave  it  §5,000.  In  1868  the 
Sisters  purchased  the  main  building  of  their  Hospital,  which 
up  to  this  had  been  leased.  The  entire  expense  of  their  build- 
ings and  grounds  has  exceeded  seventy  thousand  dollars, 
upon  which  there  remains  an  indebtedness  of  §25,000  se- 
cured by  bond  and  mortgage. 

Mr.  Charles  Gibbons,  several  years  since,  generously  pre- 
sented the  society  with  an  endowment  contribution  of  §5,000, 
and  it  is  quite  remarkable  that  no  wealthy  Roman  Catholic 
of  the  country  has  undertaken  to  increase  the  amount. 

The  Institution  is,  of  course,  distinctly  Roman  Catholic  in 
its  management;  pay  patients  are,  however,  taken  from  any 
denomination,  and  allowed  to  receive  the  visits  of  their  own 
spiritual  advisers,  though  the  stated  services  are  always  con- 
ducted by  a  Romish  priest. 

Patients  were  admitted  for  many  years  at  three  dollars  per 
week,  always  paying  one  month's  board  in  advance,  and  free 
beds  were  granted  associations  and  clubs  for  §120  per  an- 
num. But  the  greatly  augmented  cost  of  carrying  on  the  In- 
stitution, occasioned  by  the  war,  led  them  to  increase  the  price 
to  six  dollars  for  males,  and  five  for  female*;  per  week,  and  the 
cost  of  a  free  bed  to  §175  per  annum.  Many  charity  patients 
are  still  admitted.  In  1859  and  1860  over  two  hundred  of 
this  class  were  admitted,  whose  average  sojourn  was  six 
months,  at  an  expense  of  over  twelve  thousand  dollars  to  the 
Institution.  During  1872  nearly  two  hundred  and  eleven  were 
treated  gratuitously.  Since  the  founding  of  the  Hospital, 
twenty-four  years  ago,  over  fifteen  thousand  patients  have 
received  treatment  within  its  walls.  The  larger  portion  of 
those  who  have  died  have  been  afflicted  with  pulmonary  com- 
plaints. 

It  may  be  doubted  whether  any  hospital  in  the  land  is  con- 
ducted on  more  strictly  economical  principles.  The  Sisters 
serve  for  life,  with  no  expense  to  the  Institution  save  board, 
the  mother  house,  St.  Vincent's  Convent,  furnishing  their  ap- 
parel. The  dispensary  is  even  conducted  by  one  of  the  Sis- 
ters, thus  saving  the  usual  salary  of  an  apothecary.  The  pub 
lished  report  of  1860  showed  the  amount  of  wages  paid  for 
the  year  to  have  been  §894,  and  the  year  closing  with  1872 
to  have  been  §2,509,26.  The  self-imposed  penury  and  patient 
continuance  in  unrequited,  life-long  toil,  and  sleepless  vigi- 


378 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


lance  for  the  advancement  of  the  interests  of  Mother 
Church,"  by  many  Roman  Catholics,  notwithstanding  all 
their  errors  of  faith  and  practice,  present  a  sublime  anomaly 
in  the  history  of  the  world,  and  are  eminently  worthy  of 
imitation. 


GERMAN  HOSPITAL  AND  DISPENSARY, 

(Seventy-seventh  street  and  Fourth  avenue.) 

_  Until  recently,  the  hospitals  of  New  York  have  been 
largely  patronized  and  controlled  by  citizens  of  foreign  na- 
tionalities. Hospitals  are  much  more  common  in  Europe  than 
in  this  country.  London  alone  contains  over  fifty,  many  of  them 
of  a  general  character,  averaging  about  three  hundred  beds 
each.  Americans,  for  the  most  part,  prefer  to  be  treated  at 
home,  even  in  extreme  cases  ;  but  Europeans  resort  to  the 
hospital  when  overtaken  with  slight  illness.  The  hospitals 
of  Europe  often  treat  both  the  in-door  and  out-door  patients, 
hence  the  thoughts  of  an  invalid  are  naturally  turned  toward 
the  hospital.  It  is  this  early  education  that  has  prompted  so 
many  foreigners  to  plan  for  a  hospital  soon  after  taking  up 
their  residence  in  an  American  city.  "  The  German  Hospital 
of  the  City  of  New  York  "  was  incorporated  by  the  Legisla- 
ture April  13th,  1861,  and  its  first  board  of  directors  was 
organized  February  15th,  1862.  A  subscription,  opened  in 
1861,  slumbered  through  several  years.  The  treasurer's  report 
shows  that  up  to  1865  less  than  $14,000  had  been  received. 


380 


NEW  TOEK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


The  subscriptions  of  1866  exceeded  $53,000;  of  1867, 
$36,000  ;  and  of  1868,  $28,000.  A  plot  of  ground  situated 
on  Fourth  avenue  and  Seventy-seventh  street  was  leased  to 
them  by  the  city  authorities  for  fifty  years,  at  a  nominal  rent, 
and  the  directors  purchased  six  additional  lots  on  Seventy-sixth 
street.  The  plan  at  that  time  was  to  erect  two  fine  pavilions, 
extending  along  Seventy-seventh  street,  from  Fourth  to  Lex- 
ington avenues,  with  an  administration  building  between  them. 
The  corner-stone  of  the  western  pavilion  was  laid  September 
3,  1866,  and  the  edifice  so  far  completed  that  the  building 
committee  transferred  it  to  the  board  of  directors  October 
28, 1868.  The  expenditures  of  the  enterprise  at  that  time  hav- 
ing far  outrun  its  income,  the  edifice  could  not  be  used  until 
the  heavy  indebtedness  could  be  removed.  In  the  beginning 
of  1869  the  directors,  still  burdened  with  debt,  and  seeing  no 
prospect  of  receiving  large  donations,  despaired  of  ever  carry- 
ing through  the  original  plan,  and  accordingly  sold  the  six  lots 
formerly  purchased  on  Seventy-sixth  street.  The  $25,800 
thus  received  enabled  them  to  cancel  their  most  pressing 
obligations,  still  leaving  a  debt  of  $20,000,  and  the  Hospital 
unfurnished.  At  this  critical  moment,  Mr.  H.  E.  Moring  vol- 
unteered to  undertake  another  collection,  and  with  much  per- 
severance succeeded  in  raising  over  $11,000,  with  which  sum 
eighty  complete  beds  and  the  other  furniture  were  obtained. 
On  the  13th  of  September,  1869,  the  Hospital  was  finally 
opened  for  the  uses  for  which  it  had  been  erected,  since  which 
a  large  number  of  patients  have  been  treated.  'The  edifice  is  a 
beautiful,  three-story  brick,  with  French  roof.  The  stories  are 
high,  well  ventilated,  heated  throughout  with  steam,  and  con- 
tain one  hundred  beds.  The  whole  is  divided  into  six  wards 
and  five  private  rooms.  The  directors  were  last  year  very 
agreeably  surprised  by  receiving  the  princely  gift  of  $50,000 
in  United  States  bonds,  from  Baron  Van  Diergardt,  a  noble 
German  philanthropist.  This  sum  has  enabled  them  to  can- 
cel all  their  indebtedness,  leaving  $40,000  in  the  treasury. 
They  now  propose  to  repurchase  the  lots  so  recently  sold,  or 
obtain  others,  and  proceed  with  the  erection  of  the  other 
buildings  so  greatly  needed,  as  the  inconveniencies  of  the 
present  building  originate  in  the  fact  that  all  parts  of  the  ad- 
ministration are  crowded  into  what  is  but  a  part  of  a  well-con- 
sidered plan.  The  incompleteness  of  the  Hospital  appears 
from  the  fact  that  the  present  building  contains  no  kitchen  of 
sufficient  size,  no  separate  room  for  a  pharmacy,  no  room  for 


GERMAN  HOSPITAL  AND  DISPENSARY. 


381 


Burgical  instruments,  no  suitably  arranged  operating  theatre, 
no  rooms  sufficiently  separated  from  the  main  building  for 
patients  giving  symptoms  of  contagious  disease.  All  these 
prerequisites  are  provided  for  in  the  general  plan.  Patients 
are  admitted  regardless  of  color,  creed,  or  nationality.  From 
the  time  of  opening  the  Hospital  until  October  1,  1870,  739 
patients  were  admitted,  of  whom  82  died,  600  were  dismissed, 
and  57  remained.  Of  those  admitted,  300  were  treated  free, 
19  paid  in  part,  and  420  paid  in  full. 

In  1866  the  German  Dispensary  previously  established 
was  by  an  amended  charter  united  in  interest  and  manage- 
ment with  the  Hospital.  This  has  been  transferred  to  No. 
65  Eighth-street.  During  1872  it  dispensed  medical  aid  to 
12,076  patients,  and  to  a  much  larger  number  the  year  pre- 
vious. About  one-third  of  these  were  of  American  birth, 
and  nearly  eight-ninths  of  the  remainder  were  from  Ger- 
many. The  college  of  physicians  connected  with  this  dis- 
pensary have  collected  the  best  library  of  medical  periodi- 
cals in  the  United  States. 

The  German  Hospital  and  Dispensary  are  conducted  by 
learned  and  skillful  physicians,  and  with  the  completion  of 
their  new  buildings  are  certain  to  take  rank  among  our  best 
institutions. 


MOUNT  SINAI  HOSPITAL. 


{Lexington  avenue  and  Sixty-sixth  street.) 

The  many  thousand  Hebrews  of  New  York  took  no  distinc- 
tive part  in  the  hospital  accommodations  of  the  metropolis 
until  about  twenty  years  ago.  The  act  of  Legislature  by 
which  the  Jewish  Hospital  was  incorporated  bears  date  of 
January  5,  1852.  About  that  time  Sampson  Simson,  a 
wealthy  Hebrew,  donated  a  lot  of  ground  in  Twenty-eighth 
street,  near  Eighth  avenue,  and  the  society  purchased  an  ad- 
joining lot  and  erected  the  handsome  brick  Hospital,  still  in 
use,  at  a  cost  of  nearly  $35,000.  The  corner-stone  of  the 
structure  was  laid  with  appropriate  exercises  in  the  presence 
of  a  large  concourse  of  citizens  on  the  25th  of  November, 
1853,  and  the  Hospital  opened  for  the  reception  of  patients 
amid  much  rejoicing  on  the  17th  of  May,  1855.  One  hun- 
dred and  thirteen  patients  were  admitted  the  first  year. 

The  Institution  is  under  the  control  of  twelve  directors, 
three  of  whom  are  elected  annually  by  the  members  of  the 
society  and  serve  four  years.  Members  are  admitted  on  the 
annual  payment  of  five  dollars,  or  one  hundred  paid  atone 
time,  which  entitles  them  to  a  voice  at  all  meetings  of  the 
society,  and  to  a  preference  in  the  benefits  of  the  Hospital. 
In  1853  Mr.  Touro,  of  New  Orleans,  increased  the  capital  of 
the  society  by  a  donation  of  $20,000,  and  in  18G3  two  of  the 


MOUNT  SINAI  HOSPITAL. 


383 


directors  proposed  to  contribute  $10,000  each,  on  condition 
that  the  Board  should  raise  a  permanent  fund  of  $50,000, 
which  was  soon  accomplished. 

During  the  sixteen  years  of  its  operations,  it  has  received 
6,925  patients;  about  5,500  of  them  have  been  restored  to 
health,  and  about  1,400  surgical  operations  have  been  per- 
formed. The  design  of  the  society,  as  set  forth  at  its  incor- 
poration, is  to  "  afford  surgical  and  medical  aid,  comfort,  and 
protection  in  sickness  to  deserving  and  needy  Israelites,"  but 
their  charities  have  extended  far  beyond  their  own  persua- 
sion. Many  sick  and  disabled  soldiers  during  the  war  were 
received  and  treated  in  their  Institution.  When  in  1866  the 
city  was  threatened  with  cholera,  a  ward  was  prepared  and 
promptly  tendered  to  the  Board  of  Health.  Casualty  patients 
have  always  been  received  and  every  possible  alleviation 
afforded,  often  at  considerable  expense  to  the  managers ;  and 
whenever  a  poor  unfortunate  has  lost  a  limb  by  amputation, 
the  directors  have  invariably  procured  him  an  artificial  one. 
True  to  the  instincts  of  their  illustrious  ancestors,  they  regard 
every  man  in  distress  a  brother,  and  opening  the  tent  door 
bid  him  welcome  to  the  enjoyment  of  their  hospitality.  In 
their  printed  report  they  say,  "  The  ear  of  the  Hebrew  is 
never  deaf  to  the  cry  of  the  needy,  nor  his  heart  unmoved  at 
the  suffering  of  a  fellow  man,  whatever  be  his  creed,  origin, 
or  nationality."  Several  of  the  Jewish  Rabbis  give  unwear- 
ied attention  to  the  religious  interests  of  their  patients,  and 
suffering  Gentiles  are  allowed  to  receive  visits  from  their  own 
spiritual  advisers.  The  Hospital  contains  a  small  synagogue. 
They  also  own  a  burial-place,  and  bury  the  dead  without 
charge  to  the  f riends  of  the  deceased. 

The  necessities  of  the  public  and  the  wants  of  the  society 
some  time  since  outgrew  the  capacity  of  their  modest  build- 
ing, which  has  never  been  able  to  accommodate  over  about 
sixty-five  patients.  Their  surroundings  have  also  sadly 
changed.  At  the  time  of  opening  the  Hospital,  the  neighbor- 
hood was  clean,  airy,  and  quiet.  But  during  the  last  few 
years  the  building  has  been  surrounded  by  factories,  brewer- 
ies, and  workshops,  whose  steam-engines  are  puffing  day  and 
night,  to  the  great  annoyance  of  the  patients,  who  sigh  for 
quiet  and  rest.  These  factories  have  brought  also  a  class  of 
families  that  add  greatly  to  the  noise  and  filth  of  the  neigh- 
borhood. In  October,  1867,  a  steam  boiler  exploded  wTithin  a 
hundred  feet  of  the  Hospital,  and  was  thrown  several  hundred 


384 


NEW  TOEK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


feet  in  the  air,  crushing  a  dwelling  and  some  of  the  inmates 
in  its  descent.  The  concussion  at  the  Hospital  was  terrible. 
The  walls  were  shaken,  windows  shattered,  and  the  panic 
among  the  poor  patients  indescribable.  This  occurrence  set- 
tled the  matter  of  removal,  and  the  directors  began  to  in- 
quire for  a  more  eligible  site.  The  Common  Council  granted 
them  a  lease  of  twelve  lots  situated  on  Lexington  avenue,  be- 
tween Sixty-fifth  and  Sixty-sixth  streets,  for  ninety-nine  }rears, 
at  a  nominal  rent  of  one  dollar  per  annum. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  new  Hospital  was  laid  in  the  after- 
noon of  May  25,  1870.  After  music  by  Eben's  band,  the 
Rev.  J.  J.  Lyons  offered  an  earnest  and  thoughtful  prayer. 
Mr.  Benjamin  Nathan  (since  wickedly  murdered),  president 
of  the  society,  after  depositing  the  metal  box  containing  the 
history  of  the  movement  and  other  documents  in  the  stone, 
with  an  appropriate  address,  presented  to  Mayor  A.  Oakey 
Hall  a  silver  trowel,  which  had  upon  one  side  of  it  a  Hebrew 
inscription  signifying  House  of  the  Sick,  and  on  the  other  an 
inscription  of  gift,  with  the  names  of  the  officers  and  direct- 
ors. The  Mayor,  after  congratulating  the  societv  and  the  city 
upon  this  new  movement  of  charity,  said : 

"  Other  cities  boast  of  peculiar  and  familiar  titles  descrip- 
tive of  their  inhabitants.  There  is  the  '  City  of  Brotherly 
Love,'  as  Philadelphia  is  called,  and  there  is  Brooklyn,  '  The 
City  of  Churches ; '  but  the  city  of  New  York  proudly  and 
gloriously  boasts  of  being  the  great  '  City  of  Charities.'  It  is 
therefore  doubly  appropriate  that  the  Mayor  of  that  city 
should  be  here,  as  it  were,  the  high-priest  of  these  ceremonies." 

He  then  descended  from  the  platform,  and  having  placed 
himself  near  the  stone,  continued  as  follows  : 

"  I  now  proceed  to  lay  this  corner-stone  in  the  name  of  our 
common  humanity ;  in  the  name  of  the  common  mortal  life 
to  which  we  all  cling ;  in  the  name  of  those  ills  of  the  body 
and  the  mind  to  which  we  are  all  subject ;  in  the  name  of 
universal  mercy,  which  we  prayerfully  demand ;  and  in  the 
name  of  that  universal  death  which  we  all  reverently  expect. 
And  Jehovah  grant  that,  as  long  as  time  endures,  angels  of 
compassion,  with  healing  on  their  wings,  may  hover  round  the 
site  of  this  Mount  Sinai  Hospital." 

After  the  stone  had  been  lowered  to  its  place  the  Mayor 
struck  it  several  times  with  the  gavel,  and  concluded  the  cere- 
mony by  adding : 

"  Lie  thou  there,  O  corner-stone,  and,  according  to  the  sen- 


MOUNT  SINAI  HOSPITAL. 


385 


tence  of  the  noble  prayer  which  has  been  offered  here  to-day, 
may  est  thou  ever  rest  beneath  the  site  of  an  hospital  that 
shall  be  the  shelter  of  suffering  humanity,  without  distinction 
of  faith." 

An  eloquent  and  appropriate  address  was  then  delivered 
by  the  Hon.  Albert  Cardozo,  one  of  the  justices  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  State  of  New  York,  from  which  we  ex- 
tract the  following  paragraph : 

"  And  now,  from  its  foundation,  I  dedicate  the  beautiful 
edifice  about  to  be  erected  on  this  spot  to  the  charitable  pur- 
poses for  which  it  is  designed.  I  dedicate  it  in  the  name  of  the 
union  of  these  States — may  both  alike  be  perpetual ! — whose 
theory  of  religious  liberty  and  equality,  faithfully  maintained 
from  the  birth  of  the  nation — may  it  never  be  violated  ! — has 
attracted  so  many  to  these  shores,  who  have  shed  lustre  upon 
our  race,  and  who  have  repaid  their  adopted  country  for  its 
protection  by  devoting  treasure  and  talent,  and  life  itself,  to 
her  interests. 

"I  dedicate  it  in  the  name  of  the  State  of  New  York — may 
the  career  of  both  be  upward  and  onward  in  prosperity  for- 
ever!— under  whose  parental  and  protecting  care  and  benign 
influence  and  policy  the  Institution  has  thriven  and  grown, 
from  insignificant  and  dependent  infancy,  until  it  has  at- 
tained its  present  extended  usefulness  and  proportions. 

"  I  dedicate  it  in  the  name  of  the  City  of  New  York — cath- 
olic and  profuse  in  its  generosity  towards  all  laudable  objects 
— our  pride,  our  home  ;  with  which  our  dearest  interests  and 
hopes  are  identified,  and  for  whose  welfare  our  heartstrings 
vibrate  with  tenderest  emotion  and  sensibility ;  whose  prog- 
ress in  all  that  makes  a  city  really  great,  while  only  keep- 
ing pace  with  our  affection,  has  excited  the  admiration  and 
amazement  of  the  world,  and  provoked  at  times  the.  envy 
of  her  less-favored  sisters  of  both  this  and  the  old  country ; 
whose  munificence  towards  this  and  all  deserving  charities 
marks  her  pre-eminent,  as  in  everything  else,  for  entire  free- 
dom from  bigotry,  and  for  devotion  to  the  cause  of  humanity 
and  the  sacred  principle  of  religious  liberty.  And  in  the 
name  of  all  these,  speaking  for  those  who  cannot  speak  for 
themselves — for  the  helpless,  the  hapless,  and  the  forlorn — 
I  invoke  the  aid  of  all  to  sustain  this  admirable  charity  and 
make  the  Institution  a  perfect  and  permanent  success." 

The  work  thus  happily  begun  is  being  rapidly  pushed  for- 
ward, and  the  present  autumn  will  probably  witness  the 


386 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


completion  of  one  of  the  finest  hospitals  in  our  city.  The 
building  will  front  on  Lexington  avenue,  extending  across 
the  entire  block  ;  it  will  consist  of  a  fine  central  edifice,  with 
two  wings,  constructed  of  brick  and  marble,  in  the  most  ap- 
proved style  of  architecture.  It  is  three  stories  high,  besides 
basement  and  attic,  with  Mansard  roof,  heated  with  steam, 
will  accommodate  two  hundred  beds,  and  cost,  in  its  construc- 
tion and  furniture,  $350,000.  The  subscription  building  fund 
amounts  to  nearly  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  at  this 
writing,  the  old  hospital  and  grounds  are  expected  to  bring 
toward  a  hundred  thousand  when  vacated,  and  the  Institution 
has  now  a  permanent  endowment  fund  of  another  hundred 
thousand.  The  Charity  Fair  inaugurated  on  the  30th  of  No- 
vember, 1870,  netted  the  Hospital  the  large  sum  of  $101,645, 
besides  the  $35,000  appropriated  to  the  Hebrew  Orphan 
Asylum.  Surely  the  Hebrews  of  New  York  are  making  an 
excellent  record.  May  a  kind  Providence  direct  and  save 
them  ! 

(1873.)  The  new  structure  was  dedicated  May  29,  1872, 
with  but  a  small  indebtedness. 


BELLEVUE  HOSPITAL. 

(Twenty-sixth  street.  East  river.) 


JilE  Belle vue  Hospital  is  one  of  the  largest  Institu- 
riwL  tions  of  its  kind  in  the  United  States,  and  one  of  the 
noblest  monuments  of  municipal  charity  in  the  whole 
*  ^  world.  In  1816  a  stone  building  fifty  feet  by  one 
hundred  and  fifty  was  erected  at  Bellevue,  as  a  peniten- 
tiary for  minor  offenders.  The  same  year  the  new  alms- 
house was  erected  in  close  proximity  to  the  latter,  and  in 
1826  the  Hospital  was  established  near  the  two  just  described. 
The  three  Institutions,  and  over  twenty  acres  of  land,  were  en- 
closed with  a  stone  wall,  and  became  known  as  the  Bellevue 
establishment.  The  opening  of  the  House  of  Eefuge  in  1825, 
and  the  prison  at  Sing-Sing  in  1828,  furnished  accommoda- 
tions for  criminals,  so  that  at  the  removal  of  the  inmates  of 
the  almshouse  to  Blackwcirs  Island,  in  1848,  the  Hospital 
interest  naturally  took  the  entire  possession  of  Bellevue. 
The  old  almshouse,  constructed  of  blue-stone,  is  now  the 


24 


BELLEVUE  HOSPITAL. 


387 


central  edifice  of  the  Hospital.  Various  changes  and  addi- 
tions have  been  made  from  time  to  time,  until  the  buildings 
now  present  a  continuous  line  of  three  hundred  and  fifty 
feet,  all  four  stories  high,  the  central  one  crowned  with  a 
lofty  observatory.  The  Hospital  contains  thirty-five  wards, 
and  has  space  for  about  twelve  hundred  patients.  The  ceil- 
ings are  now  considered  too  low  and  the  ventilation  quite 
defective,  yet  every  improvement  possible  for  the  comfort  of 
the  patients  is  made.  The  Hospital  is  heated  throughout  with 
steam,  the  cooking  and  washing  being  performed  by  the  same 
agent,  and  the  apartments  are  all  lighted  with  gas.  Each 
building  has  a  piazza  with  external  iron  staircases,  affording 
pleasant  exercise  to  convalescents,  and  ample  means  of  escape 
in  case  of  fire. 

In  the  basement  of  the  main  building  are  kept  the  drugs, 
the  Hospital  clothing,  and  much  of  the  provision  stores. 
Here  is  also  the  printing  office  of  the  commissioners.  The 
side  walls  of  the  wide  entrance  way  of  the  first  floor  present 
on  the  one  hand  the  stone  on  which  George  Washington 
stood  when  he  took  the  oath  of  office  as  first  President  of 
the  United  States.  The  stone  is  appropriately  inscribed.  On 
the  opposite  side  the  commissioners  have  placed  a  beautiful 
inscription  in  white  marble,  to  the  memory  of  Dr.  Valentine 
Mott,  so  long  regarded  as  the  chief  ornament  of  the  medical 
fraternity  of  New  York.  The  office  of  the  warden  and  the 
business  room  of  the  commissioners  are  found  on  the  first 
floor,  and  on  the  second  are  private  apartments  for  the  war- 
den, engineer,  apothecary,  and  matron.  The  third  floor  con- 
tains similar  apartments  for  the  resident  physicians  and 
surgeons ;  while  the  fourth  contains  the  operating  theater, 
surrounded  with  circular  seats  raised  in  the  form  of  an  am- 
phitheater, with  space  for  several  hundred  students.  This 
floor  contains  also  the  library,  and  the  consultation  room. 
The  surgical  instruments  formerly  kept  here  have  been  re- 
moved to  the  first  floor,  and  placed  with  other  curiosities  in 
a  large  room  adjoining  the  entrance  hall.  They  are  all 
placed  in  charge  of  one  person,  who  is  held  responsible  for 
their  condition.  The  attic  contains  the  tanks  from  which 
hot  and  cold  water  is  distributed  through  the  building.  The 
Hospital  has  recently  been  furnished  with  spring  beds,  which, 
besides  lessening  the  labor,  adds  greatly  to  the  comfort  of  the 
patients.  The  museum  is'being  steadily  enriched  with  speci- 
mens of  morbid  anatomy,  illustrating  nearly  every  variety  of 


388 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


disease.  The  Hospital  is  placed  under  a  medical  committee 
of  inspection,  who  examine  it  weekly,  making  such  recom- 
mendations as  they  think  proper. 

This  Hospital,  as  all  know,  is  a  municipal  institution,  con- 
trolled by  the  Commissioners  of  Charities  and  Correction. 
Hence  all  sick  poor  are  entitled  to  treatment  free  of  charge. 

A  surgeon  is  detailed  to  examine  all  applicants,  and  if 
they  require  continuous  medical  treatment  he  assigns  them 
to  their  appropriate  ward  in  the  Hospital ;  if  the  illness  is 
slight,  they  are  sent  to  the  Bureau  of  Out-door  Sick.  An 
average  of  seven  or  eight  thousand  are  treated  annually  in 
this  Hospital,  about  ten  per  cent,  of  whom  die;  a  large  part 
of  the  deaths  occur,  however,  among  infants  and  casualty 
patients.  Though  the  patients  are  nearly  all  paupers,  the 
surgeons  employed  are  second  to  none,  and  the  treatment 
throughout  is  the  best  science  can  afford. 

The  bodies  of  the  dead,  unless  taken  away  by  their  friends, 
are  interred  in  the  City  Cemetery  on  Hart  Island. 

As  a  school  of  clinical  instruction,  Bellevue  ranks  among 
the  first  in  the  world.  The  students  of  all  medical  schools 
in  the  city  are  granted  admission  tickets,  and  several  hundred 
are  in  constant  attendance. 

In  1866  the  commissioners  added  the  Medical  and  Surgi- 
cal Bureau  for  the  Relief  of  the  Out-door  Poor,  which  is 
manned  by  a  large  corps  of  physicians,  who  treated  over  17,000 
patients  in  one  year.  During  the  year  a  building, 
similar  to  the  famous  Morgue  of  Paris,  was  constructed,  as  a 
temporary  receptacle  for  the  exhibition  and  identification  of 
the  unknown  dead.  The  body  is  stretched  upon  a  table  so 
that  it  can  be  viewed  through  a  glass  ceiling  day  and  night 
for  seventy-two  hours.  If  not  identified,  a  minute  descrip- 
tion of  the  person  is  recorded,  a  picture  taken,  and  the  gar- 
ments worn  are  still  kept  on  exhibition  for  twenty  or  more 
days.  A  convenient  room  has  been  added  to  this  building 
for  the  deliberations  of  the  coroners.  During  1871  there 
were  received  at  the  Morgue  214  bodies,  127  of  whom  were 
recognized  by  friends,  and  87  not  identified. 

Several  acres  of  ground  are  still  connected  with  the  Hospi- 
tal. The  yards  are  finely  cultivated  and  add  greatly  to  tlie 
beauty  and  healthfulness  of  the  Institution. 


THE  NURSERY  AND  CHILD'S  HOSPITAL. 

(Lexington  avenue  and  Fifty-first  street. ) 

-  Among  all  the  woes  of  this  sorrowful  world,  perhaps  none 
are  more  touching  to  consider  or  record  than  those  endured 
by  helpless,  speechless  childhood.  If  early  years  are  well 
supplied  with  the  appliances  of  life  and  culture,  the  priva- 
tions, exposures,  and  tempests  of  later  years  may  be  tri- 
umphantly borne ;  but  neglect  and  misfortune  in  the  morn- 
ing of  life,  if  not  instantly  fatal,  may  so  extend  their  shadows 
as  to  sadden  and  ruin  a  noble  existence.  Many  causes 
conspire  to  afflict  childhood.  Death  robs  many  a  bright- 
eyed  child,  in  the  earliest  dawn  of  its  existence,  of  her  whose 
love  and  care  can  never  be  supplied.  Its  father  may  be  at 
that  instant  on  the  Indian  Ocean,  in  Asia,  or  on  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Poverty  may  drive  the  mother  to  give  the  food 
nature  provided  for  her  own  infant  to  that  of  another ;  thus, 
to  save  herself  from  starvation,  she  half  starves  her  child. 
Some  mothers  are  insane,  and  some  suffer  with  lingering 
illness,  and  are  themselves  conveyed  to  hospitals.  Add  to 
these  the  numberless  illegitimate  births,  where  shame  for 


390 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


past  crimes  leads  to  the  commission  of  another  for  its  con- 
cealment, and  we  gain  a  faint  conception  of  the  ills  the  race 
encounters  at  the  threshold  of  its  existence.  Keflections  of 
this  kind,  particularly  those  of  wet-nurses,  compelled  by 
want  of  subsistence  to  neglect  their  own  babes  and  care  for 
others,  led  to  the  founding  of  the  "  Nursery  and  Child's  Hos- 
pital." And  is  it  not  eminently  fitting  that  woman,  to  whom 
God  in  His  providence  has  committed  the  race,  and  to  whom 
He  has  given  the  finest  susceptibilities  for  its  culture,  should 
be  the  founder  and  manager  of  this  worthy  Institution? 
Early  in  1854  Mrs.  Cornelius  Du  Bois,  whose  mind  had 
become  thoroughly  imbued  with  this  subject,  undertook  to 
interest  her  friends  and  the  public  in  behalf  of  the  infant 
children  of  the  poor,  and  so  successful  were  her  endeavors, 
that  on  the  1st  of  March,  less  than  a  month  from  the  time  of 
beginning,  a  society  was  organized,  with  $10,000  subscribed 
to  commence  the  enterprise.  On  the  first  day  of  the  follow- 
ing May  a  building  was  opened  in  St.  Mark's  place,  which 
was  so  soon  filled  that  it  was  found  necessary  to  add  the 
house  adjoining;  but,  the  pressure  for  room  still  continuing,  a 
more  eligible  building  was  secured  on  Sixth  avenue,  where 
the  society  carried  on  its  work  for  two  years. 

The  original  intention  was  to  provide  a  nursery  for  the 
infants  of  laboring  women,  and  others  deprived  by  any 
cause  of  their  mothers.  The  design  was  to  provide  for 
healthy  children,  but  unfortunately  disease  is  not  slow  to 
march  through  the  tender  ranks  of  childhood,  and  it  soon 
became  apparent  that,  in  order  to  the  successful  maintenance 
of  a  nursery,  a  hospital  with  physicians,  nurses,  and  all  need- 
ful appliances  must  be  added.  Every  week  the  number  of 
applications  increased,  and  the  managers  soon  became  con- 
vinced that  the  limits  hitherto  assigned  to  their  undertaking 
were  not  commensurate  with  the  wants  of  the  city,  and  that 
their  borders  must  be  greatly  enlarged. 

This  could  not  be  done  without  money.  An  application  to 
the  city  authorities  finally  secured  the  permanent  lease  of  a 
lot  of  land  one  hundred  feet  square  on  Fifty-first  street,  be- 
tween Lexington  and  Third  avenues.  The  Legislature  was 
appealed  to  in  1855,  and  again  in  1857,  and  the  sum  of 
$10,000  was  granted  to  aid  in  building.  Several  public 
entertainments  and  many  private  donations  so  swelled  their 
building  fund  that  they  were  permitted,  in  May,  1858,  to 
complete  a  fine  three-story  brick  building,  at  a  cost  of 


THE  NUBSEEY  A2sD  CHILD'S  HOSPITAL. 


391 


§2S,000.  The  main  building  is  sixty  feet  deep,  with  a  front 
of  one  hundred  and  nineteen  feet,  with  two  wings  of  twenty- 
seven  and  forty  feet,  respectively.  Up  to  this  period  no  ille- 
gitimate children  were  admitted,  but  the  large  numbers  they 
were  compelled  to  refuse  induced  a  deeper  study  into  the 
necessities  of  these  most  wretched  of  all  infants.  The  late 
Isaac  Townsend,  then  one  of  the  governors  of  the  almshouse, 
was  led  to  the  careful  consideration  of  the  same  subject,  and 
came  to  the  same  conclusion,  viz.,  that  a  foundling  hospital 
should  be  established  in  New  York. 

In  1S58  the  Common  Council  appointed  a  select  committee 
to  examine  and  report  on  the  expediency  of  founding  such 
an  Institution.  The  committee  carefully  examined  the  sub- 
ject, conferred  with  eminent  physicians,  collected  statistics, 
and  reported  in  favor  of  such  a  Hospital.  Their  report  showed 
that  in  one  week,  out  of  503  deaths,  no  less  than  107,  or  thirty- 
five  per  cent.,  were  under  one  year  of  age,  5-1  being  returned 
as  still  or  premature  births.  But  these  published  bills  of 
mortality  could  not  guess  at  the  hundreds  and  thousands  of 
cases  known  only  to  certain  women  and  their  physicians. 

The  annual  report  of  the  Police  Department,  the  observa- 
tions of  thoughtful  medical  advisers,  and  others,  proved  that 
infanticide  had  become  a  widespread  and  appalling  crime  in 
American  cities,  and  extended  from  the  marble  palace  of  Fifth 
avenue  to  the  dingiest  hovel  on  the  island.  It  was  believed 
that  the  establishment  of  foundling  hospitals  in  the  principal 
cities  of  Europe  had  prevented  the  extensive  practice  of 
child-murder  in  those  countries.  As  early  as  1670,  Louis 
XI Y.  placed  the  Foundling  Hospital  of  Paris  on  a  common 
footing  with  the  other  hospitals  of  the  city;  and  in  1778  a 
lying-in  asylum  was  established  by  Marie  Antoinette.  In  1739 
Thomas  Coram  founded  the  London  Foundling  Hospital, 
which  has  since  been  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  useful 
charities  of  England.  In  our  country  villages  and  towns, 
where  every  one  is  known,  infanticide  is  believed  to  be  rare ; 
hence,  many  indiscreet  girls  and  women,  on  pretence  of  a  visit 
or  an  offered  situation,  have  in  the  seclusion  of  a  great  city 
sought  concealment,  and  there  blackened  their  souls  with  in- 
fanticide. The  statistics  gathered  in  one  instance  showed  that,, 
out  of  195  cases,  only  37  belonged  to  the  city.  Many  young 
girls  are  annually  thrust  from  the  homes  of  their  parents  on 
the  discovery  of  their  sad  condition,  some  of  whom  enter  as  a 
last  resort  dens  of  infamy  to  run  a  brief  career  of  crime,  which. 


392 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


terminates  in  an  awful  death ;  while  others,  whose  desire  for 
concealment  is  stronger  than  for  life,  are  drawn  from  the 
water  by  our  policemen,  and  described  by  the  coroner. 
Through  the  unceasing  exertions  of  Mrs.  Du  Bois,  aided  by 
the  Common  Council,  a  foundling  hospital  or  "  Infant  Home  " 
was  erected  in  1861. 

It  was  a  model  building  of  its  kind,  constructed  of  brick 
and  freestone,  with  three  stories  above  a  high  basement, 
fronting  on  Lexington  avenue,  at  the  corner  of  Fifty-first 
street,  and  a  little  removed  from  the  original  Nursery  and 
Hospital.  About  the  time  of  its  completion,  yielding  to  the 
pressing  demands  of  the  hour,  it  was  surrendered  to  the  sick 
and  disabled  soldiers,  who  occupied  it  four  years,  but  at  the 
return  of  peace  it  was  restored  to  its  founders,  and  appropri- 
ated to  the  uses  for  which  it  had  been  erected.  In  October, 
1865,  it  was  formally  opened  for  the  reception  of  inmates. 

Great  inconvenience  was  experienced  still  for  want  of  suffi- 
cient room,  and  from  the  separation  of  the  two  buildings. 
This  led  the  enterprising  managers,  in  1868,  to  erect,  at  an 
expense  of  over  thirty-one  thousand  dollars,  a  third  building, 
covering  the  vacant  space  between  the  two  former,  the  base- 
ment of  which  contains  a  play-room  for  the  children,  the  rest 
being  largely  appropriated  to  a  lying-in  asylum.  The  build- 
ings are  now  entirely  completed  and  paid  for.  They  contain 
fourteen  wards,  besides  suitable  school,  dining,  and  play 
rooms,  and  other  needful  apartments.  The  aim  of  the  society 
is  not  to  encourage  vice,  but  to  prevent  it.  Hence  females 
seeking  admission  are  required  to  furnish  certificates  from  re- 
sponsible parties,  stating  that  until  recently  they  have  sustained 
virtuous  characters.  It  opens  its  doors  for  the  relief  and  re- 
covery of  unfortunates  who  have  no  other  refuge  in  the  wide 
world.  Each  woman  admitted  is  required  to  nurse  and  care 
for  one  child  besides  her  own,  and  if  her  child  dies,  to  nurse 
two  during  her  stay.  On  leaving  she  receives  a  certificate  of 
recommendation  from  the  managers  and  house  physician, 
which  usually  secures  her  a  good  situation.  Children  under 
four  years  of  age  are  received,  for  which  the  parent  is  ex- 
pected to  pay  ten  dollars  per  month  for  an  infant,  seven  dollars 
for  a  child  who  can  walk,  and  nine  dollars  for  a  hospital  or 
sick  child.  The  great  majority,  however,  pay  nothing.  The 
city  authorities  now  pay  five  dollars  per  week  for  every  indi- 
gent lying-in  woman,  and  five  dollars  per  month  for  each  child 
when  nothing  can  be  obtained  from  the  parent. 


THE  NTJRSEEY  AND  CHILD^  HOSPITAL. 


393 


During  the  year  closing  with  March,  1870,  108  mrants 
were  born  in  the  Hospital,  and  the  inmates  averaged  about 
three  hundred  and  fifty,  two-thirds  of  whom  were  children. 
The  expenditures  of  the  Institution  during  the  same  time 
amounted  to  §55,241.  During  the  last  year  208  infants  were 
born  in  the  Institution,  694  persons  cared  for,  and  30  wet 
nurses  provided  with  situations.  The  servants  sometimes  find 
an  infant  placed  at  the  door  of  the  Institution  in  the  early 
jtours  of  the  morning,  and  others  are  left  by  heartless 
mothers  who  never  call  for  them.  These  are  kept  and  in- 
structed until  they  are  eight  or  ten  years  of  age,  when  they 
are  adopted  into  good  families.  The  infants  are  fed  con- 
densed milk,  preparations  of  barley,  etc.,  and  as  they 
advance  eggs  and  other  solid  articles  of  diet  are  added.  An 
able  board  of  physicians  give  much  time  to  the  care  of  the 
sick,  and  the  Institution  is  watched  over  night  and  day  by  an 
experienced  matron,  Mrs.  Polman,  who  possesses  rare  fitness 
for  the  critical  position.  An  annual  ball  is  held  in  behalf  of 
the  Institution.  This  questionable  method  of  sustaining  a 
worthy  charity  has  nevertheless  proved  eminently  successful, 
as  the  managers  have  realized  §10,000  or  §15,000  from  each, 
thus  drawing  large  sums  from  the  voluptuous  public,  which 
lacks  the  principle  to  give  until  entertained  with  some  frivo- 
lous amusement.  On  the  4th  of  July,  1870,  the  Society 
opened  on  Staten  Island  a  country  nursery,  for  the  benefit 
of  the  sickly  children  of  the  Institution,  at  an  expense  of 
$50,000.  The  Legislature  of  1870  gave  §25,000,  and  in  1871 
added  the  other  §25,000,  thus  fully  equipping  this  country 
retreat  for  these  infant  sufferers.  The  society  is  now  thor- 
oughly furnished  for  its  undertaking,  and  will  doubtless  run 
a  long  and  useful  career.  The  Institution  is  Protestant,  but 
uot  denominational. 


NEW  YORK  EYE  AND  EAR  INFIRMARY. 


(Corner  of  Second  avenue  and  Thirteenth  street.) 

The  disorders  of  the  eye  and  its  appendages  are  more 
numerous  and  diversified  than  those  of  any  other  member  of 
the  human  body,  and  some  of  the  operations  for  its  relief  re- 
quire the  nicest  combinations  of  delicacy  and  skill.  What- 
ever knowledge  the  ancients  may  have  possessed  of  this  sub- 
ject, certain  it  is  that  the  medical  fraternity,  during  the  mid- 
dle ages,  walked  in  profound  darkness.  It  was  not  until  the 
latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  that  the  anatomy  of 
the  eye  was  well  understood.  The  German  surgeons  have 
the  honor  of  rescuing  from  deep  obscurity  the  science  of 
ophthalmic  surgery.  In  1773  Barthe  first  founded  the 
Vienna  School,  which  has  since  become  so  celebrated.  The 
impulse  given  to  the  subject  in  Germany  was  soon  communi- 
cated to  England,  and  in  1804  Mr.  Sanders  founded  the 
London  Eye  Infirmary,  whence  have  sprung  similar  charities 
in  various  parts  of  Great  Britaiu  and  the  Continent. 


NEW  YORK  EYE  AND  EAR  INFIRMARY. 


395 


In  1816  Edward  Delafield  and  John  K.  Rodgers,  gradu- 
ates of  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of  New  York 
City,  sailed  for  Europe  to  improve  themselves  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  their  profession.  They  had  attended  the  usual  course 
of  lectures,  each  had  practised  a  year  in  the  New  York  Hos- 
pital, but  as  the  institutions  of  our  country  were  yet  in  their 
infancy  they  hoped  by  foreign  study  to  render  themselves 
better  fitted  for  the  responsible  duties  of  the  medical  profes- 
sion. While  pursuing  their  studies  in  London  they  were  in- 
duced to  become  pupils  in  the  recently  established  Eye  In- 
firmary. They  had  given  the  usual  attention  to  the  study  of 
the  treatment  of  the  eye,  but  soon  discovered  that  they  and 
their  American  instructors  were  profoundly  ignorant  of  the 
whole  subject.  They  instantly  saw  that  here  was  an  open 
field  of  great  usefulness  wholly  untrodden  in  their  own  coun- 
try, and  they  devoted  themselves  with  untiring  assiduity  to 
this  new  branch  of  knowledge.  Returning  in  1818,  they 
nobly  resolved  to  establish  an  Infirmary.  They  were  both 
young,  possessed  little  means,  had  no  reputation  as  physi- 
cians, yet  in  August,  1820,  they  hired  two  rooms  on  the 
second  floor  at  No.  45  Chatham  street,  and  publicly  an- 
nounced that  on  certain  days  and  hours  of  each  week  indi- 
gent persons  afflicted  with  diseases  of  the  eyes  would  be  gra- 
tuitously treated,  and  furnished  with  all  necessary  medical 
appliances.  What  was  undertaken  as  an  experiment  soon 
proved  a  success,  for  in  less  than  seven  months  four  hundred 
and  thirty-six  patients  had  applied  and  received  treatment, 
and  many  astonishing  recoveries  had  occurred.  Having  thus 
demonstrated  the  feasibility  and  utility  of  the  undertaking, 
they  now  resolved  to  bring  the  matter  before  the  public,  and 
ask  for  the  means  to  really  found  an  Infirmary.  A  public 
meeting  convened  at  the  City  Hotel  on  the  9th  of  March, 
1821,  to  consider  this  subject,  was  eminently  successful.  A 
permanent  organization  was  effected,  and  a  committee  raised 
to  solicit  subscriptions  and  temporarily  conduct  the  Institu- 
tion. 

The  members  of  the  society  were  denominated  governors, 
and  they  resolved  that  the  payment  of  forty  dollars  or  up- 
wards should  constitute  one  a  governor  for  life,  or  the  pay- 
ment of  five  dollars  per  annum  a  yearly  governor,  with  the 
privilege  of  sending  two  patients  to  the  Infirmary  for  treat- 
ment at  all  times. 

The  operations  of  the  society  were  continued  in  the  same 


396 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


rooms  until  1824,  when  a  part  of  the  old  Marine  Hospital 
was  rented  for  the  sum  of  $500  per  annum.  .The  act  of 
incorporation  passed  the  Legislature  March  29th,  1822,  and 
the  sum  of  $1,000  was  granted  in  each  of  the  two  following 
years.    In  1845  the  accommodations  at  the  Hospital  being 
totally  inadequate,  a  three-story  house  at  No.  97  Mercer 
street  was  purchased  and  fitted  up  for  the  Infirmary.  But 
after  a  few  years  the  number  of  patients  became  so  great 
that  it  became  manifest  that  a  larger  building  must  be 
obtained.    In  1854  the  Legislature,  in  answer  to  repeated 
memorials,  granted  the  sum  of  $10,000,  on  condition  that 
$20,000  more  should  be  raised  by  the  directors  and  expended 
in  building.    Over  $30,000  were  soon  subscribed  by  the 
friends  of  the  enterprise,  and  in  1857  the  present  building 
was  erected.    It  stands  on  the  north-east  corner  of  Second 
avenue   and   Thirteentli  street,  is  a  handsome  four-story 
brown  stone,  with  appropriate  apartments  and  space  for  sev- 
enty-five beds  for  patients.    It  was  a  source  of  deep  mortifi- 
cation to  the  prime  movers  in  this  undertaking,  who  had  in- 
troduced this  system  into  the  country,  and  had  planted  them- 
selves in  its  largest  and  wealthiest  city,  to  see  two  kindred 
institutions  securely  founded  and  richly  endowed,  one  in 
Boston  and  the  other  in  Philadelphia,  while  they  were  left 
to  toil  on  in  comparative  poverty  and  obscurity  for  six  and 
thirty  years.    On  their  entrance  into  the  new  building  the 
society  entered  upon  a  new  era.    Its  enlarged  accommoda- 
tions for  patients  from  abroad  greatly  swelled  the  numbers  of 
those  who  sought  its  remedies.    Previous  to  1855,  therv  had 
been  treated  48,52S  patients,  but  during  the  last  eighteen  years 
no  less  than  118,079  have  sought  relief  at  the  Infirmary.  An 
army,  in  all,  of  166,007.    The  Infirmary  is  open  daily,  Sunday 
excepted,  from  twelve  o'clock  to  one  and  a  half,  for  the  gra- 
tuitous treatment  of  eye  patients  ;  and  diseases  of  the  ear  are 
treated  every  Tuesday,  Thursday,  and  Saturday,  from  two 
o'clock  to  four.    The  poor  from  all  parts  of  the  State  are 
entitled  to  its  privileges.    The  cost  of  the  building,  with  the 
site  on  which  it  stands,  has  amounted  to  $65,000,  and  is  now 
valued  at  nearly  twice  that  amount.    At  its  opening  there 
remained  a  debt  upon  it  of  $10,000.    This  has  since  been 
removed,  and  commendable  exertions  have  since  been  made 
by  the    directors   and  surgeons  to    secure  an  adequate 
endowment,  to  establish  free  beds,  and  to  furnish  the  patients 
gratuitously  with  glasses,  artificial  eyes  when  needed,  etc. 


NEW  YORK  EYE  AND  EAR  INFIRM  A  RY. 


397 


The  State  long  since  withdrew  all  pecuniary  support,  though 
patients  are  freely  received  from  all  parts  of  it,  and  the  Com- 
mon Council  grants  it  but  $1,000  per  annum.  Of  the  10,127 
treated  during  1873,  7,730  were  for  diseases  of  the  eye,  and 
2,397  for  diseases  of  the  ear.  Of  the  465  patients  kept  in 
the  Infirmary,  244  were  at  the  expense  of  the  Institution. 

The  endowment  fund,  contributed  by  Mr.  Grosvenor,  Mr. 
Burrall,  Dr.  Harsen,  Chauncey  and  Henry  Rose,  Madame  De 
Pou,  Mr.  Alstyne,  and  others,  has  been  carefully  invested  and 
now  yields  an  income  of  $11,000. 

Though  several  new  institutions  of  this  kind  have  recently 
been  established  in  this  city  and  Brooklyn,  the  surging  tide 
of  sufferers  has  not  been  diverted  from  this  old  and  well- 
known  Bethesda. 

This  society  has  certainly  accomplished  an  excellent  work, 
and  is  justly  entitled  to  the  lasting  gratitude  of  the  public. 
Its  whole  history  has  been  an  example  of  the  most  rigid 
economy  and  self-sacrifice,  but  the  fruit  of  its  benevolent 
exertion  has  been  rich  and  abundant.  Frequently  has  the  un- 
willing occupant  of  the  almshouse  recovered  through  its  exer- 
tions. His  family,  long  scattered  or  consigned  to  a  home  of 
wretchedness,  has  been  collected  and  raised  by  industry  to 
comfort  and  independence.  Here  the  infant,  born  blind,  has 
first  opened  its  eyes  upon  its  mother's  face,  and  the  few  re- 
maining days  of  the  old  man  have  been  cheered  by  the 
returning  light  of  day.  From  these  rooms  the  broken-down 
student  has  returned  to  his  books,  and  the  lone  female  to  her 
employment,  happy  in  the  recovery  of  sight,  the  loss  of  which 
made  poverty  a  double  calamity.  Here  many  an  anxious 
mother  has  shed  tears  of  joy  over  the  recovery  of  a  long- 
affiicted  child.  If  it  is  praiseworthy  to  educate  and  support 
the  blind,  is  it  less  so  to  prevent  blindness  ?  Surely  it  is  much 
cheaper  to  prevent  pauperism  than  to  support  it,  all  other  con- 


country,  through  the  better  education  of  the  medical  frater- 
nity, is  not  the  least  advantage  to  be  considered  from  the 
founding  of  this  Institution.  The  knowledge  acquired  has 
been  freely  offered  to  humanity  at  large.  Clinical  teaching 
and  courses  of  lectures  have  been  regularly  given  at  the  In- 
firmary for  years,  and  every  facility  afforded  to  all  medical 
students  to  perfect  themselves  in  this  branch  of  surgery ;  thus 
affording  the  public  a  better  protection  against  the  mistakes 


siderations 


benefits  accruing  to  the  whole 


398 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  ESSTTTTTION3. 


and  unskillfulness  of  their  medical  advisers.  Dr.  Edward 
Delafield,  its  chief  founder,  whose  name  and  toils  have  been 
conspicuous  in  nearly  every  part  of  its  history,  still  survives, 
to  mark  with  peculiar  satisfaction  the  increasing  success  of 
this  cherished  Institution. 


THE  WOMAN'S  HOSPITAL  OF  THE  STATE  OF  NEW  YORK. 

{Fourth  avenue  and  Fiftieth  street.) 

The  advances  made  in  almost  every  branch  of  medicine  and 
surgery  during  the  present  century  have  far  exceeded  those 
of  any  similar  period  in  the  history  of  the  world,  yet  woman, 
borne  down  by  peculiar  and  loathsome  sufferings,  has  sighed 
in  vain  for  relief  until  within  the  last  few  years.  In  1852, 
Dr.  J.  Marion  Sims,  originally  from  Alabama,  made  known 
to  the  profession  the  result  of  his  long  and  patient  investiga- 
tions of  some  of  those  hitherto  incurable  ills  that  afflict 
woman.  He  had  discovered  the  surgical  remedy  whereby 
with  one  or  more  operations  a  disease  of  the  most  distressing 
character,  that  had  for  ages  baffled  the  skill  of  Europe,  was 
radically  cured.  The  announcement  was  hailed  with  high 
satisfaction  by  the  medical  fraternity.  The  successful  treat- 
ment of  these  cases,  it  was  found,  required  the  careful  man- 
agement in  minute  detail  of  such  trained  nurses  as  are  rarely 
found  in  private  houses.  Secondly,  the  operator,  in  addition 
to  the  knowledge  and  skill  of  a  good  surgeon,  must  possess 
peculiar  adroitness  of  manipulation,  the  gift  of  very  few,  re- 
quiring large  and  constant  experience  not  often  attained  in  a 


400 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS . 


general  hospital.  Third,  the  successful  treatment  of  many 
patients  could  be  conducted  nowhere  but  in  a  hospital. 
From  these  considerations  it  was  deemed  expedient  to  estab- 
lish an  institution  where  this  treatment  could  be  made  a  spe- 
cialty. The  subject  being  laid  before  a  number  of  wealthy 
benevolent  ladies  of  New  York,  they  entered  upon  the  task  of 
founding  an  Institution  with  a  very  commendable  zeal. 

In  February,  1855,  the  Woman's  Hospital  association  was 
formed,  with  a  board  of  managers  consisting  of  thirty-four 
ladies,  a  work  of  woman  for  the  benefit  of  her  own  sex.  On 
the  4th  of  May,  1855,  the  association  opened  a  hospital  in  a 
hired  building,  with  forty  beds,  and  conducted  its  operations 
for  over  twelve  years  on  this  limited  scale.  During  that 
period,  however,  over  twelve  hundred  patients  were  discharged, 
either  cured  or  greatly  relieved,  besides  the  hundreds  of  out- 
door patients  treated.  The  city  generously  contributed  a 
block  of  ground  lying  on  Fourth  avenue  and  Fiftieth  street, 
and  in  May,  1S66,  the  corner-stone  of  the  Woman's  Hospital 
was  laid.  On  the  10th  of  October,  1867,  the  new  building  was 
thrown  open  for  inspection  and  for  appropriate  services,  and 
on  the  15th  for  the  reception  of  patients.  While  the  build- 
ing was  being  erected,  the  property  occupied  on  Madison 
avenue  was  sold,  and  the  patients  removed  to  Thirteenth 
street,  where  they  continued  eleven  months.  The  new  Hos- 
pital is  one  of  the  prettiest  buildings  on  the  island.  Its  base- 
ment is  of  polished  stone,  the  four  additional  stories  of  brick, 
with  angles  and  pilasters  ornamented  with  finely  wrought  ver- 
miculatcd  blocks.  The  windows  are  beautifully  arched,  the 
ceilings  higher  than  in  any  other  hospital  in  the  city,  and  an 
elevator  ascends  from  basement  to  fourth  floor,  to  the  great 
convenience  of  patients,  nurses,  and  visitors.  The  building 
contains  75  beds,  and  cost,  with  its  furniture,  §200,000.  The 
upper  fLor  is  devoted  to  charity  patients  from  New  York 
State  only,  who  are  required  to  render  some  service  in  the 
labor  of  the  house,  if  able. 

The  price  of  board  on  the  third  floor  is  six  dollars  per 
week,  on  the  second  floor  eight  dollars,  the  first  floor  being 
divided  into  private  rooms  which  rent  for  fifteen  or  twenty 
dollars  per  week.  During  the  year  closing  November,  1869, 
236  patients  received  treatment  in  the  Institution ;  of  these, 
151  were  cured,  13  improved,  6  discharged  as  incurable  or 
unsuitable  for  this  treatment,  6  died,  leaving  60  still  in  the 
Hospital.    The  expenses  of  the  Institution  during  the  year 


THE  WOMAN'S  HOSPITAL  OF  THE  STATE  OF  NEW  YORK.  401 


amounted  to  $22,000,  of  which  sum  $14,000  were  received 
from  the  pay  patients,  and  the  remainder  raised  by  subscrip- 
tions and  donations.  The  surgical  department,  under  the 
direction  of  the  skillful  Dr.  Emmet,  has  been  so  organized 
that  out-door  patients  are  gratuitously  treated  three  days  in 
the  week,  and  during  the  year  1,369  of  this  class  had  been 
admitted.  The  report  of  the  year  closing  November,  1870, 
showed  that  262  patients  had  been  under  treatment  in  the 
wards,  of  whom  167  were  discharged  cured,  17  improved,  12 
received  no  benefit,  and  9  died,  leaving  in  the  Hospital  57. 
Over  eighteen  hundred  out-door  patients  had  also  received 
medical  treatment.  The  annual  expenses  had  slightly  de- 
creased, as  had  also  the  receipts  from  the  patients  and  from 
donations.  Ovarian  tumors  of  astonishing  magnitude  have 
been  successfully  removed  at  this  Hospital. 

The  business  of  the  association  is  conducted  by  a  board  of 
males  styled  governors,  and  an  associate  board  of  females 
termed  supervisors.  A  hundred  ladies  have  pledged  to  sup- 
ply the  annual  deficiency  in  the  finances,  the  liability  of  each 
not  to  exceed  one  hundred  dollars.  They  deem  this  course 
preferable  to  fairs,  lotteries,  etc.  The  State,  city,  and  com- 
munity have  honored  themselves  in  contributing  toward  the 
establishment  of  this  much-needed  Institution. 

Thousands  of  physicians  from  all  parts  of  our  country  have 
attended  on  clinical  days,  and  returned  to  their  own  fields  to 
put  in  practice  the  knowledge  acquired. 

The  founder  of  the  Institution  has  introduced  the  discovery 
into  England  and  France,  receiving  distinguished  honors 
from  those  nations,  but,  what  is  more  desirable  still,  the  satis- 
faction of  knowing  that  his  system  for  the  amelioration  of 
human  suffering  is  being  reduced  to  practice  in  all  parts  of 
Europe. 

During  1869  a  modest  gentleman,  Mr.  Baldwin,  whose 
name  was  withheld  until  after  his  death,  contributed  the 
princely  sum  of  $84,000  toward  the  erection  of  another 
pavilion,  similar  to  the  one  in  use.  The  association  is  still 
somewhat  in  debt  on  the  present  building,  but  this  munifi- 
cent donation  has  imposed  the  duty  of  raising  an  additional 
$50,000  to  complete  the  project,  which  will  probably  be  ac- 
complished at  no  distant  day.  In  1868  Mr.  Henry  Young 
contributed  $3,000  for  the  endowment  of  a  bed  which  he  is 
allowed  to  assign  to  such  patients  as  he  shall  choose  at  all 
times.  During  the  year  1870  Mrs.  Kobert  Eay  and  Mrs.  H. 
25 


402 


NKW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


D.  Wyman  have  each  contributed  a  similar  sum.  The 
managers  desire  to  have  these  excellent  examples  followed 
until  half  of  the  beds  in  the  Institution  are  free,  and  if  a  suf- 
ficient endowment  could  be  secured  it  would  be  their  pleasure 
to  make  the  Woman's  Hospital  entirely  free  to  every  suffering 
female  who  may  need  its  treatment. 

The  fame  of  the  Woman's  Hospital  has  spread  through  all 
the  land.  In  the  spring  of  1870  the  wife  of  an  army  officer, 
suffering  under  a  malady  pronounced  incurable,  came  from 
Arizona.  With  the  courage  of  a  brave  and  true  woman, 
stimulated  by  the  love  of  life  that  she  might  still  minister  to 
husband  and  children,  she  travelled  incessantly  fourteen  days 
and  nights,  through  the  three  thousand  miles  that  separated 
her  from  the  goal  of  her  hopes.  When  presented  to  the 
surgeon-in-chier,  he  informed  her  with  marked  kindness  that 
the  chances  were  sadly  against  her.  She  calmly  scanned  his 
face  for  a  moment,  and  then  replied,  "  Before  I  saw  your  face, 
sir,  I  feared  I  should  die ;  but  now  I  know  I  shall  live." 
Faith  and  skill  wrought  together,  she  recovered,  and  carried 
to  her  distant  home  grateful  memories  of  the  Woman's 
Hospital. 

(1873.)  The  surgical  arrangement  of  the  Institution  was 
changed  in  1872,  four  surgeons  being  now  charged  with  its 
management. 


INSTITUTION  FOR  THE  RELIEF  OF  THE  RUPTURED  AND 

CRIPPLED. 

{Corner  of  Lexington  avenue  and  Forty -second  street.) 

"The  generations  of  the  last  two  centuries  have  been  re- 
nowned above  all  others  for  those  discoveries  and  inventions 
which  minister  to  the  wants  of  suffering  humanity.  The 
physical  sciences  have  always  been  slow  in  their  development, 
yet  with  these  the  art  of  healing  is  most  intimately  connected. 
It  is  sometimes  said  that  little  progress  has  been  made  in 
literature  during  the  last  two  thousand  years. 

Modern  authors  do  not  surpass  the  ancient  classics,  modern 
orators  have  not  equalled  Demosthenes  and  Cicero,  and  the 
volumes  of  modern  poets  are  laid  aside  for  those  of  Homer 
and  Virgil.  Euclid,  who  flourished  three  centuries  before 
Christ,  has  not  been  excelled  by  geometricians  ;  astronomers 
have  improved  little  on  La  Place,  and  law  has  improved  but 
slowly  since  the  days  of  Blackstone  and  Mansfield. 

Medical  science,  however,  has  advanced  with  rapid  strides  in 
our  day,  diminishing  suffering  and  greatly  lengthening  the 
period  of  human  life.  Statistics  show  that  longevity  has  in- 
creased in  Paris,  since  1805,  seventy-one  per  cent.,  and  that 


404 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


while  the  annual  deaths  of  London  in  17S0  were  one  in 
twenty  of  the  population,  in  our  day  they  are  reduced  to  one 
in  forty.  The  great  increase  of  hospitals,  infirmaries,  and 
dispensaries,  during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  has  evinced 
decided  progress  in  the  right  direction,  exhibiting  on  the  one 
hand  a  thoughtful  generosity  among  the  wealthy,  and  timely 
relief  from  the  woes  that  afflict  the  indigent  on  the  other. 
But  while  much  was  accomplished  for  the  blind,  the  deaf- 
mute,  for  eye  and  ear  patients,  there  still  existed  a  very 
numerous  class  of  ruptured  and  crippled  for  whose  relief  no 
institution  had  been  founded.  In  1804  a  society  was  formed 
in  London  for  the  relief  of  the  ruptured,  which  gave  advice 
and  trusses  to  poor  persons  properly  recommended.  Several 
others  have  since  sprung  up  from  this  example,  but  it  is 
believed  that  the  citizens  of  New  York  have  the  honor  of 
founding  the  first  institution  for  the  gratuitous  and  thorough 
treatment  of  hernia  and  all  classes  of  orthopedic  surgery. 
The  prime  mover  in  this  laudable  enterprise  was  Dr.  James 
Knight.  In  1842,  when  public  clinics  were  first  introduced 
in  our  medical  colleges,  Dr.  Valentine  Mott,  Professor  of 
Surgery  in  the  University  Medical  College  of  New  York,  ap- 
pointed Dr.  Knight,  who  had  devoted  much  attention  to  the 
construction  of  surgical  apparatus  and  the  treatment  of 
deformity,  to  take  charge  of  the  orthopedic  branch  of  the 
Institution.  Yast  numbers  of  poor  cripples  and  ruptured 
persons  applied  for  treatment,  and  Dr.  Knight  supplied 
not  a  few  of  them  with  surgical  apparatus  at  his  own  expense, 
which  drew  heavily  on  his  slender  means,  but  which  never- 
theless greatly  enlarged  his  practice,  and  became  in  the  end 
a  source  of  wealth.  At  a  later  period  Dr.  Knight  became 
one  of  the  visitors  of  the  New  York  Association  for  Improv- 
ing the  Condition  of  the  Poor,  and  on  these  visits  he  often 
found  helpless  cripples  whom  he  believed  might  have  been 
made  useful  and  self-supporting  if  they  had  received  proper 
treatment  in  early  years.  Dr.  Knight  had  long  felt  the 
necessity  of  a  society  to  undertake  the  improvement  of  this 
class  of  sufferers.  He  at  different  times  issued  circulars  to 
the  benevolent  of  the  city,  setting  forth  the  subject,  urging  the 
importance  of  an  organization,  but  received  no  response.  He 
next  prepared  a  paper  which  he  presented  to  the  principal  sur- 
geons, the  mayor,  and  to  several  other  distinguished  gentle- 
men, who  gave  it  their  signatures.  With  this  encouragement 
he  next  sought  the  co-operation  of  Mr.  R.  M.  Hartley,  the  cor 


rN"STlTC*njN  FOE  BELIEF  OF  EUPTUEED  AND  CELl  PLED.  405 

responding  secretary  of  the  Association  for  Improving  the  Con- 
dition of  the  Poor.  This  thoughtful  philanthropist  had  long 
felt  the  necessity  of  such  an  institution,  but  had  been  deterred 
from  any  movement  in  that  direction  from  want  of  profes- 
sional aid.  He  instantly  recognized  in  Dr.  Knight  the  aid 
he  had  so  long  needed,  and  on  the  10th  of  April,  1862,  he 
brought  the  subject  before  the  managers  of  the  Association 
for  the  Improvement  of  the  Condition  of  the  Poor,  and  intro- 
duced the  Doctor  to  that  body.  After  due  consideration,  the 
Society  was,  on  the  27th  of  March,  1863,  incorporated  under 
the  act  of  1848.  The  private  residence  of  Di  Knight, 
Xo.  97  Second  avenue,  was  rented  at  a  moderate  price, 
the  managers  pledged  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  enter- 
prise for  three  years,  and  on  the  first  day  of  "May  the 
Institution  was  opened  with  Dr.  Knight  as  resident  physician 
and  surgeon.  During  the  first  month  66  patients  were 
treated,  10  of  whom-  were  taken  into  the  Institution,  and  at 
the  close  of  the  year  the  number  amounted  to  828.  With 
each  succeeding  year  the  number  has  increased,  amounting  in 
the  year  just  closed  to  4,023  or  21,814  during  the  first  ten 
years;  and  even  this  number  would  have  been  increased  but 
for  the  lack  of  accommodations.  It  has  been  ascertained  that 
at  least  one  in  fifteen  of  the  population  is  ruptured  ;  persons  of 
all  ages,  from  the  youngest  infant  to  the  octogenarian,  being 
thus  afflicted.  These  cases  are  largely  among  the  poor  and 
laboring  classes,  unable  to  purchase  trusses  and  other  surgical 
appliances.  The  children  in  the  Institution  present  many  sad 
examples  of  deformity.  There  are  cases  under  treatment  for 
lateral  curvatures,  spinal  and  hip  diseases,  deformed  limbs, 
paralytic  affections,  club-feet,  weak  ankles,  weak  knees,  bow 
legs,  and  white  swelling.  Scores  of  astonishing  recoveries 
occur  annually  of  those  who  a  few  years  since  would  have 
been  pronounced  incurable,  and  left  to  limp  or  crawl  to  an 
early  grave.  Another  class  of  patients  are  thoyo  suffering 
from  varicose  veins,  which  are  relieved  by  the  laced  stocking, 
which,  like  suitable  trusses,  spring  supporters  for  hip  diseases, 
and  utero-abdominal  supporters,  have  always  heretofore  been 
far  hevond  the  reach  of  the  poor  on  account  of  their  costli- 
ness. The  society  manufactures  its  own  instruments  at  less 
than  one-fourth  the  price  hitherto  paid  All  indigent  persons 
applying  receive  counsel,  and  any  of  these  instruments  needed, 
gratuitously.  The  building  in  Second  avenue  was  purchased 
in  1866,  but  was  never  able  to  accommodate  over  thirty,  and 


406 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


as  most  of  those  admitted  are  compelled  to  remain  from  six 
to  eighteen  months,  and  a  few  even  longer,  hundreds  were 
annually  turned  away,  who,  with  careful  in-door  treatment, 
could  have  been  saved  from  a  life  of  deformity  and  suffering. 
The  manifest  necessity  for  the  movement,  and  its  auspicious 
beginnings,  led  the  managers  to  appeal  to  the  public  for  the 
means  to  found,  on  a  firm  basis,  a  suitable  institution.  This 
has  been  responded  to  by  a  number  of  benevolent  gentlemen, 
among  whom  may  be  mentioned  Chauncey  Rose,  Esq.,  who  has 
contributed  the  handsome  sum  of  ninety  thousand  dollars. 
The  Legislature,  in  1867,  enlarged  their  charter,  granting 
power  to  hold  real  estate  to  the  amount  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  personal  to  the  amount  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  It  also  granted,  through  the 
Supervisors  of  New  York  county,  twenty-five  thousand  dollars 
toward  building.  The  new  edifice  was  entered  by  the  sur- 
geon and  patients  in  the  spring  of  1870,  and  formally  opened 
with  appropriate  exercises  on  the  eleventh  of  the  following 
November. 

When  the  edifice  was  finished,  an  indebtedness  of  $50,000 
remained  on  the  property.  John  C.  Green,  Esq.,  the  president 
of  the  society,  nobly  proposed  to  donate  the  sum  of  $50,000, 
if  the  board  of  managers  would  within  thirty  days  collect  a 
similar  sum,  which  was  soon  accomplished,  sweeping  away 
all  encumbrar.'.-es  with  a  stroke,  and  leaving  $50,000  as  the 
foundation  of  a  permanent  endowment  fund. 

The  building  occupies  five  lots  of  ground  on  the  north-west 
corner  of  Lexington  avenue  and  Fort}7-second  street.  The 
ground  plan  consists  of  a  central  portion  one  hundred  and 
fifteen  by  forty-five  feet,  to  which  are  attached  semi-circular 
wings  of  twenty  two  feet  radius  at  three  angles,  two  facing 
the  south  on  Forty-second  street,  and  one  at  the  north-east 
angle  on  Lexington  avenue.  A  wing,  rectangular  in  form, 
thirty-two  by  twenty-two  feet,  is  also  attached  to  the  north- 
west angle.  The  heavy  walls,  which  are  seventy-nine  feet 
high,  are  of  brick,  trimmed  with  Ohio  free  and  Connecticut 
brown  stone,  their  blended  colors  forming  a  grateful  relief  to 
the  eye.  The  basement,  which  is  ten  feet  high,  contains  a 
reception  hall,  with  seats  for  one  hundred  out-patients,  consulta- 
tion-rooms, kitchen,  dining-room,  store-rooms,  laundry,  and  the 
manufacturing  department  for  the  construction  and  repairs 
of  surgico-mechanical  appliances.  The  first  floor,  reached 
by  a  broad  flight  of  steps,  is  bisected  by  a  spacious  hallway, 


INSTITUTION  FOR  BELIEF  OF  RUPTURED  AND  CRIPPLED.  407 

while  a  narrower  one,  running  at  right  angle  with  this,  divides 
it  into  squal  parallelograms.  This  floor  contains  a  reception- 
room,  a  spacious  hall  for  the  meetings  of  the  managers,  ap- 
propriate rooms  for  the  family,  and  several  apartments  for 
patients.  The  second  and  third  floors,  which  have  walls 
eighteen  feet  high,  are  each  divided  into  three  longitudinal 
divisions,  to  be  occupied  by  the  children ;  the  central  one  on 
each  floor  is  a  clear  space  where  they  receive  their  food  and 
instruction ;  the  others  contain  their  beds,  clothing,  etc.  The 
fourth  floor  is  an  open  expanse  for  convalescent  patients  to 
enjoy  the  sunlight,  free  air,  and  amuse  themselves  with  suit- 
ably limited  calisthenics.  This  story  is  eighteen  feet  high, 
covered  with  a  large  central  and  several  smaller  domes, 
through  which  the  invigorating  sunlight  pours  its  mellow 
rays  upon  the  pale  but  hopeful  patients.  The  building  con- 
tains an  admirable  system  of  ventilation,  is  heated  throughout 
with  steam,  and  well  supplied  with  bath-rooms,  hot  and  cold 
water.  The  spacious  stairway  is  fire-proof,  and  the  building 
is  furnished  with  a  fire-proof  elevator,  worked  with  steam, 
which  carries  patients'  food  and  all  other  appliances  from  the 
basement  to  the  fourth  floor.  The  edifice  lias  been  completed 
at  an  expense  of  §250,000,  including  the  site,  and  has  ample 
accommodations  for  two  hundred  patients.  The  Institution  is 
now  prepared  to  receive  pay  patients,  both  children  and  adults, 
and  the  society  has  entered,  we  trust,  upon  a  new  era  in  its 
useful  career.  Its  labors  in  the  past,  aside  from  all  humane 
and  moral  considerations,  have  been  abundantly  successful, 
relieving  the  city  of  hundreds  who  must  have  been  beggars 
and  paupers,  and  supplying  the  means  of  comfort  and  inde- 
pendence to  many  worthy  families.  The  children  are  in- 
structed in  English  and  German,  and  many  who  never  saw  a 
book  at  home  make  surprising  progress.  The  Institution  in 
its  management  is  Protestant,  though  not  denominational,  and 
sound  Christian  morals  are  inculcated  in  the  minds  of  its  in- 
mates, who  represent  all  creeds  and  nationalities.  Without 
disparagement  to  any,  we  can  but  regard  this  as  among  the 
very  first  institutions  of  this  great  metropolis. 


THE  HOUSE  OF  REST  FOR  CONSUMPTIVES. 


{Tremont,  iV.  Y.) 


^  b EHE  idea  of  founding  an  institution  for  the  better 
'Ofi  treatment  of  consumptives,  we  are  told,  originated  in 
the  mind  of  Miss  E.  A.  Bogle,  of  White  Plains.  Her 
mother  having  died  with  consumption,  she  was  led  to 
reflect  much  upon  the  nature  of  the  disease,  and  having  spent 
fifteen  months  in  a  camp  hospital  at  David's  Island  during 
the  war,  and  taken  charge  of  the  Home  for  Incurables  at  West 
Farms  after  her  return,  she  conceived  the  idea  of  establishing 
an  institution  where  pulmonary  complaints  should  be  made  a 
subject  of  special  study  and  treatment.  She  communicated 
the  idea  to  the  Rev.  T.  S.  Rumney,  D.D.,  of  White  Plains, 
who  entered  with  spirit  into  the  movement  and  became  the 
founder  of  the  Institution.  The  society  was  organized  in 
September,  1869,  and  on  December  1st  a  House  of  Pest  for 
Consumptives  was  opened  at  Tremont,  with  one  female 
patient.  The  author  visited  the  Institution  on  the  last  day  of 
January,  1870,  and  found  five  patients,  three  male  and  two 
female.  The  building  leased  at  Tremont  is  a  very  eligible 
one,  with  fine  surroundings,  on  the  line  of  the  Harlem  Pail- 
road,  though  it  is  the  purpose  of  the  trustees  to  purchase  land 
and  erect  suitable  buildings  at  White  Plains  at  no  distant 
day.  It  is  designed  to  be  a  charitable  institution,  receiving 
patients  afflicted  with  pulmonary  complaints  from  any  and 
every  denomination,  supplying  all  with  medical  treatment  and 
nursing ;  also  "  with  the  ministrations  of  the  Gospel  according 
to  the  forma  and  doctrines  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church."  Any  person  or  society  may  establish  a  free  bed,  to 
be  constantly  occupied  by  any  invalid  he  shall  designate,  on 
the  annual  payment  of  three  hundred  dollars. 

It  is  the  desire  of  the  managers  to  have  as  many  of  the 
beds  free  as  possible.  Persons  become  members  of  the 
society  on  the  annual  payment  of  ten  dollars,  or  a  life  mem- 
ber on  the  payment  of  one  h.mdred  at  one  time. 

It  may  be  doubted  whether  the  best  location  has  been 
selected,  a  dry  atmosphere  being  thus  far  considered  the  most 
important  desideratum  for  consumptives. 

While  it  is  too  early  in  the  history  of  the  Institution  to 


THE  HOUSE  OF  BEST  FOE  CONSUMPTIVES.  409 


make  any  safe  prediction  concerning  it,  may  we  not,  how- 
ever, rejoice  in  the  undertaking,  and  hope  that  new  light 
may  be  shed  on  this  hitherto  dark  subject,  and  that  thou- 
sands who  would  otherwise  sink  pale  and  lifeless  into  prema- 
ture graves  may  be  spared  for  years  of  toil  and  usefulness. 

Other  diseases  that  successfully  baffled  the  skill  of  the 
medical  fraternity  for  ages  have  been  conquered  by  the  in- 
vestigations of  modern  times.  The  small-pox  was  the  raging 
scourge  of  the  world  until  Dr.  Jenner,  by  long  study  and 
careful  experiments,  disrobed  it  of  its  power.  Certainly,  in 
a  climate  like  ours,  where  three-fourths  of  the  people  are 
afflicted  with  pulmonary  diseases  in  some  of  their  forms,  and 
all  are  liable  to  be,  no  more  important  subject  can  challenge 
the  researches  of  the  physician,  or  the  charities  of  the  benevo- 
lent. 

(1873.)  This  society  has  recently  purchased  and  refitted  a 
fine  building  at  Tremont  at  an  expense  of  about  $25,000. 
Whole  number  of  patients  received  during  the  first  three 
years,  111 ;  of  whom  43  have  been  discharged  cured  or 
benefitted,  and  41  have  died.  Miss  Bogle,  the'  first  lady  in 
charge  of  this  charity,  deceased  during  i872. 


NEW  YORK  INFIRMARY  FOR  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN. 


(No.  128  Second  avenue.) 

Until  very  recently  it  has  been  difficult,  if  not  quite  im- 
possible, for  a  woman  to  obtain  a  complete  medical  and  sur- 
gical education,  either  in  this  or  in  any  other  country. 
That  she  possesses  the  talent,  and  should  by  instruction 
secure  the  fitness  to  successfully  treat  the  delicate  cases  of 
her  own  sex,  is  to  us  a  matter  of  plainest  common  sense ;  yet 
such  has  been  the  prejudice  of  the  medical  fraternity  and  of 
the  world  at  large,  that  for  ages  she  has  been  debarred  from 
the  halls  of  the  medical  college,  and  from  the  operating 
theater  at  the  hospital.  A  growing  desire  to  enter  this  wide 
field  of  usefulness  has  been  evinced  by  the  female  sex  for 
the  last  fifty  years,  and  is  becoming  more  and  more  conta- 
gious as  opportunities  in  this  direction  are  afforded.  Some- 
thing more  than  twenty  years  ago,  Misses  Elizabeth  and 
Emily  Blackwell  managed  to  press  their  way  through  a 
medical  course,  and  graduated  at  a  medical  college  in  Cleve- 
land. Several  years  were  subsequently  spent  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  these  studies  in  Europe,  after  which  they  returned, 


NEW  YORK  INFIRMARY  FOR  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN.  411 


and  with  the  aid  of  a  few  friends  founded  the  first  medical 
charity  conducted  by  female  physicians,  and  the  first  hospital 
in  the  world  for  the  instruction  of  women  in  medicine  and 
surgery.  The  Institution  was  incorporated  in  December, 
1853,  under  the  general  act  of  1848,  with  a  board  of  eigh- 
teen trustees,  among  whom  stand  the  names  of  H.  Greeley, 
H.  J.  Jlaymond,  Charles  A.  Dana,  Elizabeth  Blackwell,  etc. 
Their  first  movement  was  to  open  an  infirmary  or  dispensary  in 
a  single  room  near  Tompkins  square,  with  a  capital  of  fifty 
dollars,  to  be  attended  three  times  a  week  by  Doctor  Eliza- 
beth Blackwell.  Three  years  later,  reinfoiced  by  the  return 
of  Doctor  Emily  Blackwell  from  Europe,  and  by  Marie  E. 
La  Krzewska,  a  lady  of  medical  attainments,  a  hospital  de- 
partment was  added.  This  last  step  was  taken  amid  many 
fears  and  doubts  on  the  part  of  sundry  trustees  and  friends 
of  the  cause,  lest,  through  the  prejudice  of  the  public,  the 
death  certificates  signed  by  a  woman  should  not  be  recog- 
nized by  the  authorities,  and  the  means  necessary  to  defray 
the  expenses  of  the  enterprise  should  fail.  But  the  faith  of 
woman  discovered  light  ahead  and  pressed  on.  The  names 
of  several  distinguished  practitioners  were  secured  as  a  con- 
sulting board,  and  in  the  fourth  year  the  infirmary  was  by 
the  State  and  city  placed  on  the  list  receiving  governmental 
assistance,  which  official  recognition  was  considered  more 
valuable  than  the  financial  aid  secured.  In  1862  a  subscrip- 
tion was  started,  which  resulted  in  the  purchase  of  the  four- 
story  brick  building,  twenty-six  by  seventy  feet,  situated  at 
Bo.  128  Second  avenue.  The  building  cost  §17,000,  but  the 
improvements  and  other  changes  have  since  doubled  its  mar- 
ket value  The  society  in  addition  to  about  §1,000  annually 
received  from  the  Stat.?,  has  recently  received  §10,000  from 
the  city,  which  has  enabled  it  to  remove  the  mortgage  on  its 
property  and  to  least?  for  a  term  of  years  the  adjoiuing  build- 
ing, thus  greatly  enlarging  its  accommodations.  During  the 
first  five  years  that  the  infirmary  was  located  on  Second 
avenue,  31,657  sick  persons  were  treated,  the  greater  portion 
being  out-door  patients.  On  account  of  their  limited  accom- 
modations, but  640  were  received  into  the  house,  353  for  the 
practice  of  midwifery,  only  five  of  whom  died,  an  average  of 
one  per  year.  The  small  percentage  of  deaths  establishes 
the  capacity  of  woman  to  successfully  conduct  a  hospital. 
Their  business  is  rapidly  increasing,  as  no  less  than  6,413 
were  treated  or  supplied  with  medicine  during  1869.  More 


412 


NEW  YOKK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


than  one  hundred  have  been  received  into  the  house  annually 
for  several  years  past,  the  mo  jority  being  obstetrical  cases, 
though  all  other  patients  in  the  general  practice  are  treated. 
The  poor  are  furnished  gratuitously  with  medicines,  and  vis- 
ited at  their  homes  by  the  physicians. 

The  instruction  of  young  women  for  nurses,  and  for  the 
practice  of  medicine,  had  been  from  the  first  a  leading 
feature  in  the  Institution,  yet  the  managers  desired  to  make 
satisfactory  arrangement  with  some  medical  school  for  the 
graduation  of  their  students,  and  thus  avoid  the  necessity  of 
establishing  a  separate  college.  Failing  to  complete  such 
arrangements,  an  application  to  the  Legislature  for  a  college 
charter  was  made  in  1865,  and  in  due  time  granted.  The 
course  of  study  is  rigid,  lasting  three  years,  and  requiring 
the  students  to  be  present  in  the  Institution  at  least  eighteen 
months  during  that  time.  The  faculty  of  professors  and 
lecturers,  like  the  board  of  trustees,  is  composed  of  males 
and  females.  Fifteen  or  twenty  students  taking  the  regular 
course  have  been  in  attendance  since  the  organization  of  the 
college,  besides  other  ladies  who  have  simply  attended  lec- 
tures. An  educational  fund  amounting  to  §100,000  has  been 
called  for,  to  which  appeal  the  late  Chauncey  W.  Hose, 
whose  name  is  connected  with  so  many  benevolent  undertak- 
ings, responded  with  a  donation  of  §5,000.  The  fund  at  this 
time  amounts  to  above  $30,000.  The  annual  expense  of  the 
Institution  had  not  exceeded  $7,000  up  to  the  period  of  open- 
ing the  second  building,  and  five  hundred  dollars  have  never 
been  received  in  any  year  from  pay  patients.  The  society 
performs  a  work  of  great  charity  among  the  poor,  adminis- 
tering in  times  of  greatest  need  to  hundreds  of  widows,  and 
to  others  who  by  desertion  or  deception  are  rendered  equally 
forlorn,  and  richly  deserves  the  unstinted  support  of  the 
benevolent.  All  honor  to  this  pioneer  college  of  female 
physicians. 


NEW  YORK  MEDICAL  COLLEGE  AND  HOSPITAL   FOR  WOMEN. 


(Corner  of  Twelfth  street  and  Second  avenue.) 

The  great  and  multiplied  difficulties  which  every  lady  has 
been  compelled  to  encounter  in  the  study  of  medicine  and 
surgery  has  by  no  means  dampened  the  ardor  of  the  sex  for 
such  an  undertaking.  In  all  parts  of  Europe,  as  well  as  in 
America,  women  are  loudly  knocking  at  the  door  of  the 
college  and  the  hospital.  The  University  of  Zurich,  in 
Switzerland,  conferred  the  degree  on  its  first  female  medical 
student  in  1867,  and  the  number  of  Russian  women  applying 
for  admission  into  the  college  of  medicine  at  St.  Petersburgh 
has  been  so  numerous,  that  the  subject  was  several  years 
since  brought  up  for  discussion  in  the  Imperial  Council  of 
Education.  These  applications  have  been  numerous  in 
England,  and  in  some  recent  instances,  in  France,  ladies  have 
received  opportunities  in  hospitals  and  colleges  not  hitherto 
granted.  Ten  native  female  physicians  have  recently  gradu- 
ated in  India.  But  no  country  affords  such  opportunities  to 
women  as  America,  and  no  city  to  female  medical  students 
as  New  York.  The  prevalence  of  liberal  sentiments  has  of 
late  thrown  open  to  them  the  great  city  hospitals  and  dispen- 


414 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


saries,  with  their  admirable  clinics;  and  colleges,  encouraged 
by  the  first  medical  talent  of  the  age,  have  been  erected  with 
every  appliance  for  their  especial  culture.  The  infirmary 
established  by  the  Blackwell  sisters,  and  so  successfully  con- 
ducted, proved  the  practical  capacity  of  woman  as  a  medical 
adviser,  and  was  an  indispensable  prerequisite  to  a  successful 
appeal  to  the  public  for  means  to  establish  an  institution  for 
such  education.  This  having  been  clearly  demonstrated  at 
that  infirmary,  the  projectors  of  this  Institution  established 
first  the  college,  leaving  the  practical  matters  of  hospital  and 
dispensary  to  be  added  at  a  later  period.  The  origin  of  this 
Institution  should  perhaps  date  from  A  pril,  18(5*3,  when  a 
series  of  lectures  were  delivered  to  a  class  of  females  by  Mrs. 
Losier  of  this  city,  in  her  own  private  parlor.  This  lady  had 
graduated  some  sixteen  years  previous1}'  at  a  well-known 
medical  college,  and  in  these  lectures  was  assisted  by  Doctor 
I.  M.  Ward.  In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year,  rooms  were 
rented  at  No.  724  Broadway.  Two  or  three  years  were 
subsequently  spent  at  No.  74  East  Twelfth  street,  and  in 
June,  1868,  the  present  eligible  building,  corner  of  Twelfth 
street  and  Second  avenue,  was  purchased.  The  society  was 
incorporated  as  a  medical  college  in  1863,  and  the  following 
year  the  act  was  amended  adding  the  term  u  Hospital."  The 
trustees  are  all  females.  The  main  building  is  a  fine  four- 
story  bruwn  stone,  twenty-six  by  eighty-one  feet,  and  cost 
$43,000.  A  rear  addition,  fronting  on  Twelfth  street,  twenty- 
four  by  fifty-five  feet  and  three  stories  high,  has  been  added, 
containing  dispensary,  anatomical,  lecture,  and  dissecting 
rooms.  The  hospital  department  was  not  opened  until 
September,  1869,  since  which  about  four  hundred  female  and 
children  patients  have  been  received.  The  dispensary  has 
also  treated  several  thousand  indigent  applicants.  The 
Homeopathic  system  is  principally  taught,  with  a  liberal 
leaning  to  all  other  good  practice.  The  course  of  study  lasts 
three  years,  and  aims  at  great  thoroughness,  the  students 
being  required  to  practise  in  the  dispensary  and  diagnose  in 
the  Hospital.  Great  pains  are  taken  to  perfect  their  attain- 
ments in  obstetrics,  a  field  in  which  they  are  expected  to  find 
their  largest  practice.  In  order  to  matriculation,  the  appli- 
cant must  present  an  approved  certificate  of  good  moral 
character,  be  eighteen  years  of  age,  have  a  good  English 
education,  including  elementary  botany  and  chemistry,  and 
be  under  the  instruction  of  a  respectable  medical  practitioner. 


HAHNEMAITN  HOSPITAL. 


415 


A  free  scholarship  is  offered  to  one  graduate  from  each 
chartered  female  college  in  this  State.  The  expense  of 
tuition  does  not  exceed  $130.  Students  are  not  boarded 
in  the  Institution.  About  thirty  students  are  now  in  attend- 
ance, and  nearly  sixty  have  been  graduated.  After  gradua- 
tion, one  or  two  years  are  usually  given  to  the  further  pursuit 
of  their  studies,  before  they  really  begin  practice.  Two  of 
the  graduates  of  this  Institution  are  now  conducting  a  lucra- 
tive practice  in  this  city,  and  may  be  seen  daily  riding  in 
their  carriages  to  the  dwellings  of  their  patients.  Others 
are  practising  in  other  places,  and  proving  that  the  practice 
of  medicine  is  at  present  die  most  remunerative  calling  open 
to  a  woman.  The  Institution  received  $10,000  from  the 
State  in  1869,  about  $7,000  having  been  previously  received 
from  the  city.  It  has  also  received  many  private  donations, 
among  which  we  may  mention  one  from  Mrs.  Losier,  M.D., 
one  of  its  founders,  of  $10,000. 


HAHNEMANN  HOSPITAL  OF  THE  CITY  AND  STATE  OP 
NEW  YORK. 

(Fourth  avenue  and  Sixty-seventh  street.) 


,t|]p]IIS  is  the  only  homeopathic  hospital  in  the  city  and 
'ijyjP*  State  of  New  York,  and  the  first  in  its  inception  in  the 
^iSSJ  United  States.  It  was  founded  by  and  through  the  in- 
fluence of  its  medical  director,  Dr.  F.  Seeger,  who  ad- 
vanced from  his  own  funds  the  first  thousand  dollars  toward 
launching  the  enterprise.  Its  organization  and  incorporation 
took  place  early  in  the  fall  of  1869.  The  inaugural  exercises 
were  held  in  the  rooms  of  the  Union  League  Club,  on  the 
15th  of  December,  1869,  and  Dr.  John  F.  Gray  presided. 
Addresses  were  made  by  William  Cullen  Bryant  and  George 
C.  Barrett,  the  latter  at  that  time  president  of  the  Hospital. 
Some  choice  pieces  of  music  were  sung  by  Miss  Clara  Louise 
Kellogg.  A  temporary  hospital  was  opened  in  a  hired  build- 
ing, is  o.  307  East  Fifty-fifth  street,  where  it  still  continues. 
During  1870  forty  patients,  all  but  one  charity  cases,  were 
treated.    There  are  now  many  more  applicants  than  can  be 


416 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


admitted  with  their  limited  space.  Measures  were  early 
taken  toward  the  erection  of  large  and  permanent  hospital 
buildings.  The  Legislature  of  1870  granted  the  corporation 
twelve  city  lots  lying  on  Fourth  avenue,  between  Sixty- 
sevebth  and  Sixty-eighth  streets;  also  the  sum  of  $20,000 
toward  the  erection  or  buildings,  on  condition  that  an  equal 
amount  be  raised  by  private  subscription.  About  $15,000  at 
this  writing  have  been  secured,  and  an  effort  is  being  made 
to  secure  $50,000  more  from  the  Legislature.  The  new 
structures  will  consist  of  a  fine  administration  building,  front- 
ing on  Fourth  avenue,  and  of  two  fine  pavilions  extending 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  along  Sixty-seventh  and 
Sixty-eighth  streets.  The  entire  front  on  Fourth  avenue  will 
be  two  hundred  feet  ten  inches.  The  pavilions,  besides  high 
basement,  will  have  two  stories  each,  and  a  Mansard  story, 
will  accommodate  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  patients,  giving 
over  1,300  cubic  feet  of  space  to  each.  The  buildings  are 
expected  to  cost,  when  completed,  about  $200,000.  All  the 
newest  developments  in  the  science  of  hospital  constructure 
have  been  embodied  in  the  plan,  and  it  is  believed  the  Insti- 
tution will  be  a  worthy  representative  of  its  kind. 

In  the  autumn  of  1868  Dr.  Seeger  was  chiefly  instrumental 
in  founding  and  securing  the  incorporation  of  the  North- 
eastern Homeopathic  Medical  and  Surgical  Dispensary,  which 
still  continues  at  No.  307  East  Fifty-fifth  street.  He  has 
been  from  the  first  its  chief  physician.  Since  its  opening 
over  forty  thousand  patients  have  been  treated,  over  eighty- 
five  thousand  prescriptions  made,  and  more  than  two  thou- 
sand visits  made  gratuitously  to  the  sick  at  their  homes. 
State  and  city  aid  has  been  received  in  defraying  the  ex- 
penditures, and  liberal  contributions  have  been  made  by 
prominent  gentlemen  of  the  city.  The  dispensary  is  a  sepa- 
rate Institution  from  the  Hospital,  though  several  of  the  offi- 
cers serve  in  both  boards. 


THE  STRANGERS'  HOSPITAL. 

(Corner  Avenue  D  and  Tenth  street.) 


jW|jiuIE  number  of  great  and  good  men  who  industriously 
^4^^[  gather  fortunes  that  they  may  thereby  advance  civil- 
WS^J  ization,  remove  or  assuage  human  suffering,  is  be- 
lieved to  be  happily  upon  the  increase.  The  policy 
of  appropriating  wealth  during  the  lifetime  of  the  giver, 
under  the  economy  and  direction  of  his  own  guiding  mind,  is 
also  a  valuable  improvement  on  the  old  legacy  system.  Mr. 
Peter  Cooper,  Mr.  James  Lenox,  and  Mr.  Daniel  Drew  have 
furnished  the  wealthy  of  New  York  with  some  excellent  ex- 
amples of  this  kind.  It  is  also  our  pleasure  to  record  another 
in  the  founding  of  the  Strangers'  Hospital.  Mr.  John  H. 
Keyser,  a  New  York  merchant,  and  the  architect  of  his  own 
fortune,  has  been  able  during  the  last  year  "  to  realize  a  long- 
cherished  desire,"  in  the  founding  of  an  institution  for  the 
relief  of  the  suffering.  Early  last  summer  (1870)  he  pur- 
chased the  old  Dry  Dock  Bank,  at  the  corner  of  Avenue  D 
and  Tenth  street,  and  began  remodelling  the  structure.  The 
building  stands  on  a  plot  of  ground  fifty  by  one  hundred  and 
sixty  feet,  having  in  the  rear  an  irregular  L-shaped  piece  of 
land.  The  structure  is  of  brick,  four  stories  high  ;  the  three 
upper  of  which  are  divided  into  wards,  and  contain  space  for 
over  one  hundred  and  eighty  beds.  The  first  floor  contains 
the  offices,  a  fine  reading-room,  and  a  large  chapel.  The 
building  is  well  ventilated  ;  the  walls  are  coated  with  a  prep- 
aration of  india  rubber,  to  avert  the  absorption  of  any  in- 
fectious material.  The  structure  is  heated  with  steam ; 
Eussian,  Turkish,  and  mercurial  baths  are  provided,  and 
every  other  appliance  needful  in  a  well-ordered  Hospital. 

The  first  patient  was  admitted  January  12th,  1871,  but  the 
formal  dedication  did  not  occur  until  the  evening  of  the  7th 
of  February.  After  prayer  by  Rev.  J.  S.  Holme,  of  Trinity 
Baptist  Church,  the  opening  address  was  made  by  Dr.  Otis, 
president  of  the  medical  staff  of  the  Hospital,  who,  after  a 
few  preliminary  remarks,  indicated  the  object  and  scope  of 
the  Institution  as  follows  :  "  It  is  not  intended,"  said  he,  "  for 
the  benefit  of  the  wealthy,  who  in  times  of  sickness  can  com- 

26 


418 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


mand  the  comforts  of  a  well-ordered  home  and  the  attendance 
of  a  skillful  physician  or  surgeon.  Nor  yet  for  the  beggar, 
who  leads  a  life  of  dissolute  idleness,  rotating  in  winter  and 
in  sickness  about  the  charitable  institutions  of  this  city.  It 
is  intended  for  the  succor  and  restoration  of  the  deserving 
sick  poor,  and  in  an  especial  manner  for  that  sadly  numerous 
class  of  people  in  this  great  city  who  have  seen  better  days 
People  to  whose  sufferings  in  poverty  and  sickness,  education 
and  refinement  put  on  a  keener  edge  ;  strangers — strangers 
to  the  homes  of  plenty  and  comfort  in  which  they  have  been 
born  and  nurtured,  and  from  which  misfortune  and  disease 
have  parted  them.  Nor  is  it  alone  to  the  strangers  within 
our  midst  that  the  privileges  of  this  great  charity  are  ex- 
tended. Whoso  is  in  need  of  the  especial  aid  this  Institution 
is  intended  to  afford — even  though  afar  off — according  to  the 
broad  rendering  of  its  patron — is  entitled  to  be  counted  a 
stranger,  and  to  be  taken  in.  Such  as  suffer  with  grave  dis- 
ease, requiring  skill  and  an  extended  experience  not  readily 
attainable  in  the  rural  districts,  will  be  permitted  to  receive, 
equally  with  '  the  strangers  within  our  gates,'  all  the  bene- 
fits of  the  Strangers'  Hospital.  And  yet  another  class  1  To 
those,  either  rich  or  poor,  suddenly  stricken  down  by  acci- 
dent or  disease,  the  doors  of  this  place  are  open  at  every 
hour,  by  night  as  well  as  by  day,  and  every  comfort  and  assist- 
ance will  be  afforded  them." 

The  Institution  and  its  furniture,  at  the  time  of  opening, 
had  cost  over  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  dollars,  all  of 
which  was  paid  by  the  generous  founder,  who  also  proposes, 
by  the  divine  blessing,  to  entirely  support  it  in  its  operations. 
The  Institution  is  to  be  conducted  under  Protestant  auspices, 
but  it  is  not  denominational.  Mr.  Keyser  attends  the  Baptist 
church,  but  is  not  a  communicant. 

The  operations  of  this  Hospital  at  the  period  of  the  re- 
visal  of  this  work  (September,  1873)  are  temporarily  sus- 
pended. 


THE  NEW  YORK  OPHTHALMIC  HOSPITAL. 


(Corner  Twenty -third  street  and  Third  avenue.) 


I  HE  New  York  Ophthalmic  Hospital  was  incorporated 
April  21st,  1852,  and  was  opened  for  the  treatment 
of  patients  May  25th  of  the  same  year.  It  was 
founded  chiefly  by  Mark  Stephenson,  and  was  first 
opened  at  No.  6  Stuyvesant  square.  The  Institution  was 
conducted  by  a  corps  of  physicians  of  the  Allopathic  prac- 
tice until  the  year  1867,  when  at  the  instigation  of  certain 
interested  parties  a  revolution  in  its  management  was  pro- 
duced. At  the  annual  election  of  the  board  of  directors  of 
that  year,  seventeen  of  the  nineteen  elected  were  inclined  to 
the  practice  of  Homeopathy,  and  they  immediately  appointed 
a  board  of  surgeons  of  that  school  to  take  charge  of  the  Hos- 
pital. During  the  four  and  a  half  years  since  the  introduc- 
tion of  Homeopathic  practice,  over  five  thousand  patients 
have  been  treated,  and  the  number  now  amounts  to  about 
fifteen  hundred  per  annum. 

The  Institution  has  been  for  many  years  at  the  corner  of 
Fourth  avenue  and  Twenty-eighth  street,  in  a  leased  building 
but  after  much  exertion  the  managers  have  succeeded  in 
raising  funds,  and  have  now  erected  a  fine  structure  of  their 
-own,  situated  corner  Twenty-third  street  and  Third  avenue, 
at  a  cost  of  nearly  $100,000.  With  the  entrance  of  the 
society  into  this  improved  edifice,  affording  ample  accommo- 
dations for  in-door  patients,  will  doubtless  come  a  greatly 
enlarged  business,  allowing  the  public  to  choose  between  the 
two  methods  of  medical  treatment. 


NEW  YORK  OPHTHALMIC  AND  AURAL  INSTITUTE. 

(No.  46  East  Twelfth  street.) 

HE  New  York  Ophthalmic  and  Aural  Institute  was 
incorporated,  under  the  general  act  of  1848,  on  the 
28th  day  of  August,  1869.  It  was  founded  and  put 
in  working  order  by  the  personal  efforts  and  private 
means  of  Dr.  H.  Knapp,  of  this  city,  formerly  professor  in 
the  University  of  Heidelberg.    The  premises  at  No.  46 


420 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


East  Twelfth  street,  where  the  work  of  the  Institution  is  con- 
ducted, is  his  private  property. 

The  objects  of  the  Institute  are:  1.  "The  treatment  of 
patients  suffering  from  diseases  of  the  eye  and  ear,  belonging 
to  all  classes  of  society.  2.  The  advancement  of  medical 
science,  in  particular  the  branches  of  Ophthalmology  and 
Otology.  This  is  effected  by  the  experience  derived  from  the 
examination  and  treatment  of  patients,  by  scientific  investiga- 
tion, and  systematic  medical  instruction." 

The  Institution,  working  as  a  Hospital,  was  opened  for  out- 
door patients  on  the  18th  of  May,  1869,  and  for  the  reception 
of  in-door  patients  in  the  following  June.  At  the  issue  of 
their  last  report  it  appeared  that  12,039  had  been  treated  in 
the  Dispensary,  and  977  in  the  Hospital. 

Three  classes  of  in-door  patients  are  received.  The  first 
class  pay  from  three  to  five  dollars  per  day  for  board,  and  the 
usual  prices  for  professional  services.  The  second  class  pay 
from  one  to  two  dollars  per  day,  with  no  additional  charges. 
The  third  class  are  indigent  patients,  and  are  admitted  gratu- 
itously. The  expense  of  the  Institution  the  last  year 
amounted  to  $18,751.35 ;  of  which  sum  the  pay  patients  con- 
tributed $8,786.75,  the  State  nothing,  the  city  of  New  York 
$1,000,  and  the  remaining  $5,625  were  generously  supplied 
by  Dr.  Knapp. 

The  society  received  during  the  year  1871  a  grant  of 
$2,000  from  the  State,  and  a  similar  sum  from  the  city  au- 
thorities. 

The  Dispensary  is  located  in  the  basement  of  the  house, 
which  has  a  large  hall,  used  as  a  waiting-room,  and  capable 
of  seating  about  sixty  people  ;  a  reception-room,  in  which  the 
patients  are  treated ;  two  dark  rooms  for  examinations  with 
eye  and  ear  mirrors,  and  other  instruments  ;  and  a  separate 
waiting-room  for  severer  cases,  especially  such  as  have  to  un- 
dergo operations.  Two  wash-hand  stands,  one  in  the  recep- 
tion-room and  another  in  the  hall,  with  warm  and  cold  water, 
offer  great  convenience  and  relief  to  the  surgeons  and  pa- 
tients. The  dispensary  is  a  charity,  open  to  the  poor  daily 
from  two  to  three  and  a  half  P.M. 

The  in-door  department,  entirely  separated  from  the  Dis- 
pensary, occupies  the  four  stories  of  the  house.  The  latter  is 
twenty-five  feet  in  front,  but  widens  posteriorly  to  fifty-two 
feet,  having  in  the  rear  a  yard  sixty  feet  broad  and  twenty- 
five  feet  deep.    A  spacious  hall,  with  a  large  winding  stair- 


MANHATTAN  EYE  AND  EAR  HOSPITAL. 


421 


case  in  the  centre,  forms  a  most  excellent  natural  ventilator, 
while,  in  addition,  a  proper  ventilation  and  light  flue  runs 
from  the  kitchen  hall  to  the  roof.  The  in-door  department 
resembles  a  private  hotel  more  than  a  hospital,  having  a  con- 
siderable number  of  smaller  and  larger  bed-rooms,  a  parlor, 
dining-room,  piazza,  bath-rooms,  etc.,  with  accommodation 
for  thirty  patients.  The  furniture  is  neat  but  plain  in  the 
top  floor,  handsome  and  elegant  in  the  lower  stories,  thus 
affording  to  the  inmates  all  the  comforts  which  are  compatible 
with  the  objects  of  the  Institution.  The  beds  are  of  the  first 
quality  throughout.  A  matron  has  charge  of  the  establish- 
ment. Experienced  and  trusty  nurses  are  in  constant  atten- 
dance on  the  patients.  The  position  of  resident  physician  is 
filled  by  a  competent  ophthalmic  and  aural  surgeon. 


MANHATTAN  EYE  AND  EAR  HOSPITAL. 
{No.  233  East  Thirty -fourth  street.) 

^WSSHE  Manhattan  Eye  and  Ear  Hospital  was  chartered 
^\M,  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New  York,  May  5, 
_w2^l  1869.    The  society  began  its  work  in  a  temporary 

*  ^  building,  No.  233  East  Thirty-fourth  street,  on  the 
15th  of  October,  1869,  by  opening  a  daily  clinic  for  the  gra- 
tuitous treatment  of  the  poor,  and  providing  thirteen  beds  in 
suitable  wards  for  such  cases  as  might  require  surgical  oper- 
ations or  other  careful  in-door  treatment.  The  society,  thus 
far.  has  neither  asked  nor  received  State  or  municipal  aid,  its 
funds  being  generously  provided  by  the  benevolent  men  who 
planned  the  enterprise,  and  their  friends.  The  board  of  di- 
rectors, its  officers,  and  the  surgical  staff  serve  gratuitously. 

The  directors  have  purchased  a  plot  of  ground  on  the 
south-east  corner  of  Park  avenue  and  Forty-first  street,  hav- 
ing a  frontage  of  one  hundred  feet  on  the  avenue  and  eighty 
feet  on  the  side  street,  at  a  cost  of  $50,000,  and  $15,000  have 
been  paid  on  the  same.  Upon  this  they  purpose  to  erect 
auitable  hospital  buildings  as  soon  as  the  funds  can  be  se- 
cured. 

On  the  first  day  of  January,  1871,  the  society  issued  its 


422 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


first  printed  report,  detailing  the  account  of  its  proceedings, 
and  showing  that,  during  the  fourteen  and  one-half  months 
of  its  active  existence,  1,227  patients  with  diseases  of  the  eye 
had  been  treated,  and  430  with  diseases  of  the  ear.  The 
Hospital  is  always  open  for  the  reception  of  in-door  patients, 
and  on  every  secular  day  at  two  o'clock  p.m..  for  such  as  may 
attend  gratuitously  the  Dispensary  for  the  out-door  service. 

Many  cases  have  occurred  in  the  experience  of  the  year  to 
illustrate  the  beneficent  character  of  the  work  done  by  the 
Hospital.    We  append  a  few : 

"  An  old  man,  who  was  once  in  affluent  circumstances,  but 
had  lost  his  property,  so  that  he  was  an  object  of  charity,  was 
brought  to  the  Hospital  blind.  One  eye  was  found  to  be 
hopelessly  disorganized  by  disease,  and  the  other  fast  becom- 
ing so.  An  operation  was  at  once  performed  on  the  eye  least 
diseased,  and  in  which  he  could  just  distinguish  light  from 
darkness  ;  it  did  not  avail  much,  however,  and  then,  on  con- 
sultation, it  was  decided  to  remove  the  most  diseased  eye, 
trusting  that  this  radical  procedure  might  be  of  benefit  to  the 
eye  which  was  rapidly  becoming  as  hopelessly  affected.  This 
was  done ;  in  a  few  days  the  sight  of  the  remaining  eye  be- 
gan slowly  to  improve,  and  continued  to  do  so  until  in  about 
three  months  he  was  again  able  to  read  and  write,  and  he  is 
now  earning  his  bread.  This  poor  man  was  so  destitute  of 
means  that  he  was  not  able  to  pay  his  board  for  one  day  of 
the  three  months  he  was  in  the  Hospital,  and  but  for  its  cha- 
rity his  eyes  would  have  very  soon  been  beyond  all  hope. 

"  A  day  laborer,  with  a  family  dependent  upon  him,  had 
been  blind  for  a  year.  He  was  led  to  the  Hospital  by  a 
friend ;  he  was  found  to  have  a  cataract,  which  was  removed 
by  an  operation,  and  in  six  weeks  he  was  able  to  leave  the 
Hospital  with  sight  enough  for  all  ordinary  purposes,  and  has 
now  been  at  work  for  a  year.  He  was  also  unable  to  pay  his 
board. 

"  A  poor  man,  a  widower,  and  his  four  small  children,  came 
into  the  Hospital  with  Ophthalmia,  contracted  in  their  over- 
crowded tenement  from  a  child  that  had  returned  diseased 
from  the  Westchester  Reformatory.  They  formed  a  piteous 
group,  and  were  in  immediate  danger  of  blindness.  They 
were  ragged  and  unclean  ;  special  arrangements  were  made 
to  cleanse,  clothe,  and  treat  them,  and  after  prolonged  and 
painstaking  care  they  were  all  saved  from  blindness. 

"  An  old  lady,  in  reduced  circumstances,  was  brought  in 


ASSOCIATION  FOR  RELIEF  OF  AGED  INDIGENT  FEMALES.  423 


blind  with  cataract;  she  was  operated  upon,  and  her  sight  re- 
stored, so  that  she  could  read  and  write  the  finest  print  or 
writing. 

"  A  man  who  had  for  many  years  occupied  a  fiduciary  posi- 
tion became  blind  and  was  brought  to  the  Hospital,  where 
he  was  operated  upon  for  cataract,  and  his  vision  restored. 

"  A  poor  seamstress,  blind  with  cataract,  was  operated  upon 
and  her  sight  restored. 

"A  poor  old  man,  who  had  for  some  years  been  shut  up  at 
his  house  by  his  relations  as  hopelessly  blind,  was  brought  to 
the  Hospital,  operated  upon  for  cataract,  and  useful  vision  re- 
stored. So  we  might  go  on  to  narrate  several  scores  of  cases 
in  which  blindness  was  either  cured  or  prevented. 

"  What  is  said  of  the  cases  of  disease  of  the  eye  holds  true 
also  with  regard  to  cases  of  diseases  of  the  ear." 


ASSOCIATION  FOR  THE  RELIEF  OF  RESPECTABLE  AGED  INDI- 
GENT FEMALES. 

(East  Twentieth  street.) 

im|1pHE  society  which  still  perpetuates  this  noble  charity 
'l^sSf  began  its  career  during  the  last  war  with  England,  and 
has  now  issued  its  fifty-eighth  annual  report.  In 
other  lands,  where  institutions  have  attained  the  hoary 
growth  of  centuries,  this  statement  would  occasion  no  remark ; 
but  here,  amid  the  rush  of  new  events,  and  the  ceaseless 
change  in  nearly  every  locality,  we  can  but  feel  that  this  de- 
serves the  appellation  of  time-honored.  The  wants  of  human 
nature  are  identical  in  all  ages,  hence  an  institution  to  provide 
for  aged  females,  whose  declining  years  were  saddened  by 
poverty,  was  needed  in  this  city  sixty  years  ago.  The  com- 
mon almshouse,  filled  as  it  usually  is  with  the  dregs  of  soci- 
ety, is  not  a  place  of  comfort  to  persons  of  refined  sensibili- 
ties. For  the  relief  of  this  class,  a  few  benevolent  ladies 
were  moved  with  compassion.  Meetings  for  the  discussion  of 
their  plans  were  held,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1813  an  associa- 
tion was  formed,  which  was  the  nucleus  of  this  society.  The 
organization  of  the  society  occurred  on  the  7th  of  February, 


424: 


NEW  TOEK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


181 4,  in  the  session  room  of  the  Brick  Presbyterian  Church, 
when  a  constitution  was  adopted,  and  a  board  of  sixteen  man- 
agers elected.  The  managers  held  their  regular  meetings  fcr 
three  years  in  the  same  church,  after  which  they  were  held  ia 
private  houses,  until  the  completion  of  the  Asylum  in  1838. 
During  the  first  twenty-four  years,  the  society  simply  gave 
pensions  to  its  needy  beneficiaries  in  money  and  clothing,  and 
thought  of  nothing  beyond.  But  in  1833  the  plan  of  erecting 
a  suitable  Asylum  was  proposed.  In  the  winter  of  1834,  after 
a  sermon  preached  by  Dr.  Schroeder,  in  the  Church  of  the 
Ascension  (then  in  Canal  street),  setting  forth  the  wants  of 
the  society,  a  collection  of  $310.20  was  taken  for  the  enter- 
prise. But  the  impression  made  on  the  audience  was  better 
than  the  collection.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peter  G.  Stuyvesant,  who 
were  listeners,  soon  presented  the  society  with  a  deed  of  three 
lots  of  ground,  the  site  of  the  present  building.  John  Jacob 
Astor  nobly  headed  a  subscription  with  $5,000,  on  condition 
that  $20,000  should  be  raised  in  a  year.  The  ball  being  now 
fully  in  motion,  many  merchants  and  persons  of  wealth  were 
successfully  appealed  to,  and  the  amount  realized.  The  Asy- 
lum was  commenced  in  1837,  and  the  following  year  com- 
pleted and  thrown  open  for  the  reception  of  inmates.  The 
edifice  is  a  four-story  brick,  with  a  fine  basement  and  sub- 
cellar,  with  accommodations  for  about  one  hundred  persons, 
including  resident  officers  and  employes. 

The  want  of  an  infirmary  was  soon  apparent,  and  Mr.  Astor 
again  pledged  $3,000,  which,  with  numerous  smaller  sums,  en- 
abled the  managers  in  1845  to  purchase  the  adjoining  lot  and 
complete  the  desired  building.  In  1816  the  society  received 
from  the  Common  Council  $300,  and  the  year  following,  $250, 
which,  with  a  recent  State  donation  of  $6,000,  comprise  all 
sums  ever  drawn  from  the  public  authorities — a  fine  record, 
indeed,  in  this  age  of  public  plunder. 

This  society,  being  the  pioneer  of  its  kind,  has  exerted  a 
most  healthful  influence  in  the  city  and  country,  and  its  man- 
agers, being  selected  from  the  several  denominations,  have  in- 
fused its  spirit  into  all  the  churches.  Persons  are  riot  admit- 
ted under  sixty  years  of  age,  and  are  required  to  furnish  their 
own  rooms,  pay  an  entrance  fee  of  fifty  dollars,  and  leave 
what  other  property  they  may  inherit  to  the  Institution.  No 
denominational  tests  are  urged  in  the  admission  of  candi- 
dates, though  the  greater  number  are  from  the  "Reformed 
Dutch  and  the  Presbyterian  churches.    It  may  be  interest- 


ASSOCIATION  FOR  RELIEF  OF  AGED  INDIGENT  FEMALES.  425 

ing  to  state  that  the  Asylum  at  one  time  sheltered  a  near  rela- 
tive of  President  "Washington,  and  has  at  this  writing,  within 
its  walls,  a  cousin  of  General  Lamb.  The  Asylum  is  conve- 
niently arranged,  the  rooms  are  large  and  cheerful,  and  per- 
fect order  and  tidiness  reign  in  every  department.  The  same 
cook  has  had  charge  of  the  kitchen  twenty-seven  years.  The 
inmates  have  nearly  all  lived  to  a  remarkable  age.  The  obit- 
uary record  shows  that  some  died  at  84,  some  at  85,  others  at 
86,  89,  93,  and  97.  In  1851  the  vestry  of  Trinity  church 
granted  the  association  a  burial  plot  in  their  cemetery,  and 
the  same  year  similar  donations  were  received  from  the 
trustees  of  Cypress  Hill  and  of  Greenwood.  As  the  Asylum 
is  likely  to  continue  for  generations  to  come,  and  constantly 
enlarge  its  operations,  all  these  plots  and  many  more  will 
probably  be  needed. 

In  the  winter  of  1822-23  an  auxiliary  society  was  formed 
under  the  direction  of  Mrs.  E.  Mowatt  and  Miss  Ann  Dom- 
inick  (now  Mrs.  Gillett,  the  First  Directress),  the  object  of 
which  was  to  provide  suitable  clothing  for  the  pensioners. 
This  arrangement  has  been  continued  through  all  these  years, 
accomplishing  an  incalculable  amount  of  good.  The  plan  of 
providing  for  out-door  pensioners  did  not  cease  with  the 
opening  of  the  Asylum,  but  still  continues.  In  1851  their 
printed  report  showed  that  no  less  than  eighty-seven  had  been 
regularly  assisted  during  the  year,  and  that  one  of  these  had 
died  at  the  ripe  age  of  100  years,  who  had  annually  received 
aid  since  the  formation  of  the  society. 

The  inmates  of  the  Asylum  have  numbered  from  seventy 
to  one  hundred  for  many  years  past,  and  the  expense  of  the 
Institution  has  ranged  from  ten  to  twenty  thousand  dollars 
per  annum.  Plans  for  the  erection  of  a  new  edifice  on  Fourth 
avenue  and  Seventy-eighth  street  have  been  adopted.  The 
new  Asylum  will  be  of  stone,  five  stories  high,  surmounted 
by  a  Mansard  roof,  and  is  estimated  to  cost  $175,000.  When 
this  is  completed  the  old  Asylum  in  Twentieth  street  will  be 
disposed  of.  Notwithstanding  the  great  multiplication  of 
benevolent  societies  during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century, 
hundreds  are  still  knocking  at  these  doors  who  cannot  be 
admitted  until  death  shall  remove  the  present  inmates,  or 
enlarged  accommodations  are  provided.  Services  are  held 
regularly  by  the  pastors  of  the  neighborhood,  and  skilled 
physicians  have  always  freely  rendered  their  services. 


LADIES'  UNION  AID  SOCIETY  OF  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL 

CHUBCH. 


(Forty-second  street,  near  Eighth  avenue.) 


10  the  ladies  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  must 
be  accorded  the  honor  of  founding  the  first  denomin- 
W$f*P  at*01ial  Institution  for  the  support  of  the  aged  and 
infirm  members  of  their  persuasion,  whose  circum- 
stances especially  require  it.  The  Home  in  East  Twentieth 
street  had  preceded  it  twelve  years,  and  proved  the  necessity 
and  feasibility  of  such  enterprises ;  but  this  was  not  denomin- 
ational, and,  great  as  had  been  its  usefulness,  there  still  re- 
mained a  wide  field  in  every  religious  organization  for  the 
largest  endeavors  of  the  self-sacrificing,  and  the  charities  of 
the  benevolent.  Under  the  profound  conviction  that  a  home 
should  be  provided  for  the  aged  and  indigent  of  their  own 
communion,  a  meeting  was  convened  on  the  4th  of  March, 
1850,  at  459  Broadway,  and  was  presided  over  by  the  vener- 
able Nathan  Bangs.  A  committee  of  inquiry  was  appointed 
and  several  subsequent  meetings  held,  which  resulted  finally 
in  the  adoption  of  a  constitution,  and  the  organization  of  a 
society,  which  consists  of  a  board  of  seventy,  or  more,  female 
managers,  elected  annually  from  the  various  Methodist 
churches  in  New  York,  and  an  advisory  committee  of  gen- 
tlemen. 

On  the  1st  day  of  November,  1850,  the  building  No.  16 
Horatio  street  was  leased  at  an  annual  rent  of  $480,  and 
soon  after  its  doors  were  thrown  open  for  the  reception  of 
inmates.  Much  of  its  furniture  was  contributed  by  the 
friends  of  the  enterprise.  The  act  of  incorporation  passed 
the  Legislature  June  19,  1851,  seven  months  after  the  open- 
ing of  the  Institution.  During  the  first  year  twenty-three  in- 
mates w^re  admitted,  two  of  whom  died,  and  the  second  year 
ten  more  were  received,  and  one  died,  leaving  an  average 
family  of  thirty  for  the  second  year.  This  not  only  com- 
pletely filled  the  building,  but  forced  upon  the  minds  of  the 
managers  the  necessity  oi  providing  more  enlarged  accommo- 
dations. About  this  time,  a  fine  plot  of  ground  on  Sixty-first 
street  and  Broadway  was  purchased,  and  a  plan  of  a  build- 
ing prepared.    A  little  consideration  led  to  the  conclusion 


ladies'  union  aid  society  of  the  m.  e.  church.  427 

that  these  lots,  situated  in  so  eligible  a  part  of  the  city,  might 
be  advantageously  disposed  of,  and  a  much  larger  plot  ob- 
tained thereby,  farther  out  of  town.  In  1853  twelve  lots 
were  selected  and  purchased  on  the  Kingsb ridge  road,  at  One 
Hundred  and  Forty-second  and  One  Hundred  and  Forty -third 
streets.  The  increase  of  the  price  of  building  materials,  and 
the  want  of  available  funds,  delayed  for  two  years  longer  the 
commencement  of  the  much-desired  edifice.  But  God,  in  His 
inscrutable  providence,  was  preparing  them  a  site  for  their 
Bethesda  in  one  of  the  loveliest  portions  of  the  city,  where  the 
aged  inmates  might  remain  in  convenient  communication  with 
their  churches  and  friends.  In  1855,  Mr.  William  S.  Seaman, 
an  aged  member  of  the  Allen  Street  M.  E.  church,  donated  to 
the  society  two  choice  lots  on  Forty-second  street,  near  Eighth 
avenue,  on  condition  that  the  annual  interest  of  the  estimated 
value  of  the  property  should  be  paid  to  him  during  his  life- 
time. The  society  promptly  accepted  this  generous  gift,  soon 
purchased  the  lot  adjoining,  and  the  following  summer  began 
the  erection  of  the  Home.  Mr.  Seaman  died  nine  months 
after  the  conveyance  of  the  property,  but  his  last  days  were 
cheered  with  the  assurance  that  the  cherished  Institution 
would  be  immediately  erected,  on  the  site  he  had  so  benevo- 
lently contributed.  The  corner-stone  of  the  new  building  was 
laid  with  appropriate  services,  September  16th,  1850,  and  the 
Institution  dedicated  by  Bishops  Morris  and  Janes,  assisted  by 
other  clergymen,  April  27th,  1S57.  The  family,  after  resid- 
ing six  and  a  half  years  in  Horatio  street,  was  removed  to 
these  more  eligible  quarters  on  May  1st  of  the  same  year. 

The  edifice  is  a  substantial  brick,  sixty-two  feet  front  and 
eighty-two  deep,  four  stories  high,  with  a  brown-stone  front, 
and  is  constructed  in  the  Gothic  order.  The  main  entrance, 
over  which  is  the  chapel  and  infirmary,  projects  several  feet 
from  the  body  of  the  building,  and  is  reached  by  a  broad 
flight  of  stone  steps.  The  basement,  which  is  entirely  above 
ground,  contains  the  kitchen,  dining-room,  laundry,  store- 
rooms, and  pantry,  besides  a  broad  entrance  hall,  all  conven- 
iently arranged.  On  the  right  of  the  vestibule,  on  the  first 
floor,  is  a  commodious  parlor  for  visitors,  and  on  the  left,  one 
for  committees.  A  large  and  airy  rotunda  adjoins,  entered 
through  sliding  doors,  lighted  by  a  dome  of  sixteen  large  win- 
dows, which  may  be  raised  by  cords  for  ventilation.  This  is 
surrounded  by  convenient  rooms  for  inmates,  the  superin- 
tendent's being  among  them,  and  so  arranged  as  to  make  com- 


428 


NEW  YOEK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


munication  easy  with  any  or  all  of  the  family.  The  second 
and  third  stories  have  circular  corridors,  which  are  sur- 
rounded by  pleasant  apartments,  each  having  one  or  more 
windows,  and  a  ventilator.  On  either  side  of  the  front  en- 
trance is  a  flight  of  stairs  leading  to  the  second  story,  where 
over  the  vestibule  and  the  parlors  is  the  tasty  chapel,  with 
seating  for  one  hundred  persons,  and  immediately  above  this 
is  the  infirmary,  a  large  airy  room,  commanding  an  extended 
view  of  the  city  and  adjacent  country.  When  erected  it  was 
said  to  contain  space  for  the  accommodation  of  one  hundred 
persons,  but  that  number  has  never  been  received.  It  is 
heated  by  furnaces  throughout,  each  room  having  its  register. 
It  is  well  provided  with  bath-rooms  and  Croton,  has  an  ample 
cellar,  and  at  its  erection  was  one  of  the  best  ventilated  and 
finest  arranged  buildings  in  the  city. 

The  lot  purchased  cost  $6,400,  the  edifice  $30,000,  and  in 
1867  the  building  adjoining  was  added  at  the  cost  of  an 
additional  $20,000.  The  property  is  now  valued  at  $125,000. 
The  purchase  of  the  last  building  made  space  for  the  recep- 
tion of  several  aged  men.  Down  to  the  time  of  entering  the 
new  building  the  family  averaged  twenty-five,  since  which 
it  has  been  at  least  trebled,  and  now  averages  about  ninety. 
Since  its  opening,  in  1850,  209  beneficiaries  have  shared  its 
generous  hospitality,  of  whom  105  have  died,  and  24  have 
been  otherwise  provided  for. 

At  the  opening  of  the  new  building  a  debt  of  $23,000 
remained  against  the  property.  The  number  of  inmates  soon 
greatly  increased,  prices  advanced,  the  war  and  other  provi- 
dences swept  away  many  of  their  generous  friends,  and  dur- 
ing these  trying  periods  the  managers  were  often,  like  Pro- 
fessor Francke  at  Halle,  driven  in  deep  anxiety  to  the  Lord 
with  the  pressing  wants  of  the  Institution.  With  much  exer- 
tion the  current  expenses  were,  however,  met,  and  the  debt 
gradually  reduced.  In  June,  1864,  a  strawberry  festival,  as 
is  their  annual  custom,  was  held,  and  on  the  first  of  July  at 
the  meeting  of  the  managers  the  proceeds  were  announced  to 
have  amounted  to  $588.  The  treasurer  inquired,  "  Shall  the 
money  be  used  in  paying  the  interest  due  on  the  debt  at  the 
Greenwich  Savings  Bank  ? "  At  this  point  Mr.  Samuel  Hal- 
sted,  a  member  of  the  advisory  committee,  stepped  forward 
and  presented  a  receipt  in  full  from  the  president  of  the 
bank.  He  and  his  excellent  brother  Schureman  had  silently 
by  subscription,  raised  the  amount  necessary  to  cancel  all  in- 


ladies'  union  aid  society  of  the  m.  e.  chuech.  429 

debtedness  and  to  thoroughly  repair  and  repaint  the  building. 
A  thrill  of  ioy  at  this  delightful  surprise  ran  through  every 
heart,  and  found  expression  in  the  long-meter  doxology, 
which  was  sung  with  great  zest,  all  the  members  rising  to 
their  feet. 

Several  grants  have  been  received  from  the  Common  Coun- 
cil and  the  Legislature,  though  the  sentiment  now  very  gener- 
ally prevails  in  the  denomination  that  such  donations  should 
neither  be  solicited  nor  received.  The  society  has  held 
several  moderately  successful  fairs,  realized  something  every 
year  from  donations,  festivals,  and  lectures.  It  has  also 
been  remembered  with  several  small  legacies,  among  which 
we  may  mention  that  of  Mrs.  Bishop  Hedding,  of  $2,300. 

The  New  York  Preachers'  meeting  annually  arranges  to 
supply  the  Home  with  preaching,  once  on  each  Sabbath,  by 
the  pastors  stationed  in  the  city.  Prayer-meetings,  class-meet- 
ings, and  love-feasts  are  held  statedly,  and  are  often  seasons 
of  great  interest.  Many  of  the  inmates  are  infirm,  some  have 
been  entirely  helpless  for  years,  and  most  of  them  live  to  very 
advanced  age.  In  1854  Mrs.  Sarah  W.  Kairns  died,  at  the 
advanced  age  of  117  years,  and  the  same  year  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Cairns,  aged  100  years.  "  With  long  life  will  I  satisfy  him, 
and  show  him  my  salvation."  The  New  York  Conferences, 
during  their  sessions  in  the  city,  have,  at  the  invitation  of  the 
managers,  enjoyed  some  interesting  tea-meetings  at  the 1 
Institution,  and  the  old  ladies  have  several  times  been  agree- 
ably surprised  by  the  members  of  the  different  churches,  who 
have  spread  their  tables  with  delicacies,  and  left  other  sub- 
stantial tokens  of  their  regard.  The  managers  now  contem- 
plate the  removal  of  the  Institution  farther  up  town,  to  secure 
more  enlarged  accommodations.  The  resident  manager  and 
recording  secretary,  Mrs.  Matilda  M.  Adams,  has  held  some 
important  position  in  the  board  since  the  organization  of  the 
society.  She  is  a  lady  of  solid  culture,  of  genial  piety,  and 
possesses  in  an  eminent  degree  those  varied  administrative 
faculties  befitting  her  position,  and  so  rarely  blended  in  the 
same  person.  May  she  and  all  who  have  toiled  with  her  in 
this  blessed  work,  and  those  whose  sorrows  they  have  as- 
suaged, meet  in  that  Home  where  "  the  wicked  cease  from 
troubling  and  the  weary  are  at  rest." 


HOME  OP  THE  FRTENDLESS,  EAST  TWENTY-NINTH  STKEET. 


THE  AMERICAN  FEMALE  GUARDIAN  SOCIETY  AND  HOME  FOR 
THE  FRIENDLESS. 

(No.  29  East  Twenty-ninth  and  No.  32  East  Thirtieth  streets. ) 

Thirty-nine  years  ago  a  number  of  Christian  ladies  in  New 
York  were  moved  to  begin  a  work  in  behalf  of  the  helpless, 
the  exposed,  and  the  forsaken.  An  organization  known  as 
the  "  American  Female  Guardian  Society  "  was  formed,  and 
its  executive  committee  for  some  time  held  their  weekly 
meetings  in  a  small  rear  basement  under  the  old  Tract  House. 
These  devoted  women  visited  the  city  prisons,  and  the 
manufactories  where  hundreds  of  young  girls  were  employed, 
distributing  religious  tracts,  papers,  Bibles,  Testaments,  giv. 
ing  counsel  to  the  inexperienced,  and  providing  situations  for 
many  out  of  employment.  They  also  scanned  the  poorest 
districts,  employed  pious  female  missionaries  to  visit  from 
house  to  house,  to  instruct  and  encourage  the  ignorant  and 
desponding.  Poor  forsaken  children,  destined  for  the  alms- 
house, were  taken  to  their  own  houses  and  provided  for  until 
suitable  homes  could  be  obtained  for  them.  At  that  time 
there  were  no  "  Girls'  Lodging  Houses,"  "  Working  Women's 
Unions,"  or  "  Homes,"  where  innocent, penniless  youngfemales 
could  apply  for  a  night's  lodging  and  the  necessary  helps  to 


THE  AMERICAN  FEMALE  GUAEDIAN  SOCIETY. 


431 


a  situation.    ~No  doors  save  those  leading  to  the  prison,  the 
almshouse,  or  the  brothel,  were  certain  to  open  to  the  indi- 
gent, friendless,  unfortunate  girl  or  widow,  unexpectedly 
thrown  into  the  whirl  of  this  great  city.    To  guard  young  fe- 
males, to  provide  for  helpless  childhood,  and  to  care  for  the 
sorrowing  widow,  seem  to  have  been  the  leading  thoughts 
of  the  association.    A  work  so  eminently  Christ-like,  now 
commended  by  the  most  vile,  was  then  watched  with  in- 
difference and  suspicion  by  many  of  the  good.    The  mana- 
gers of  many  of  the  pioneer  benevolent  associations,  in  their 
triumphant  contests  with  the  prejudices  and  calumny  of  their 
generations,  have  fought  battles  requiring  a  courage  and  de- 
serving the  honor  of  a  Wellington  or  a  Washington.  The 
great  change  wrought  in  public  sentiment,  concerning  Chris- 
tian duty  to  the  friendless  and  fallen,  the  decided  support 
cheerfully  given  during  the  last  twenty  years,  and  the  num- 
erous similar  charities  that  have  sprung  up  in  every  section 
of  the  country,  are  sources  of  the  most  profound  satisfaction 
to  the  surviving  early  friends  of  this  excellent  Institution. 
During  the  early  years  of  the  movement  their  records  show 
that  more  than  temporal  advantage  came  to  many  houses  of 
destitution,  scores  if  not  hundreds  were  converted  to  God, 
and  drawn  into  the  fold  of  the  great  Shepherd.    Still  their 
efforts  lacked  concentration  and  thoroughness,  for  want  of  a 
building  suited  to  their  undertaking.    ~No  plan  for  the  recep- 
tion of  inmates  really  commensurate  with  the  aims  of  the 
society  was  adopted  until  1847,  when  a  building  situated  on 
the  corner  of  Second  street  and  the  Bowery  was  rented. 
About  this  time  the  managers  issued  a  printed  appeal  for 
means  to  erect  a  Home  for  the  Friendless,  calling  attention  to 
the  numbers  of  females  constantly  out  of  employment,  and 
the  scores  of  orphan  or  deserted  children  who,  by  early  care, 
might  be  saved  from  pauperism  and  prison.    The  means 
came,  lots  were  purchased  on  East  Thirtieth  street,  and  in 
December,  1848,  the  Home,  a  fine  three-story  brick  edifice, 
with  accommodations  for  at  least  one  hundred  and  fifty  per- 
sons, was  dedicated,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  managers,  who 
had  toiled  amid  embarrassments  so  many  years.    The  sphere 
of  usefulness  of  the  society  was  now  greatly  enlarged.  Hun- 
dreds were  annually  fed,  instructed,  and  furnished  with  situa- 
tions.   This  Institution  is  not  a  Home  for  those  who  are 
friendless  because  guilty  of  crimes  against  society;  nor  to 
adult  paupers,  of  whom  the  Scriptures  sav,  "  If  any  will  not 

27 


432 


NEW  YOKK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


work,  neither  shall  he  eat ; "  nor  yet  for  the  aged,  infirm,  or 
diseased,  for  whom  other  establishments  have  been  erected. 
It  is  a  temporary  asylum  for  homeless,  friendless  children, 
an  arched  and  gilded  passage-way  from  dingy,  remorseless 
poverty,  to  a  home  of  affection,  culture,  and  elevation.  It  is 
a  temporary  refuge  for  destitute  young  women,  not  fallen, 
but  within  the  age  and  circumstances  of  temptation,  needing 
protection,  and  willing  to  live  by  honest  toil.  It  contains  a 
department  for  small  children  also,  but  such  only  are  taken 
as  afford  the  prospect  of  early  adoption.  Children  do  not 
remain  at  the  Home  over  three  months  on  an  average.  The 
plan  of  the  society  is  a  radical  divergence  from  the  old  or- 
phan asylum  system.  Instead  of  keeping  the  children  within 
the  narrow  limits  of  an  asylum  for  years,  forming  habits  and 
intimacies  which  must  ultimately  be  broken,  they  are  early 
placed  in  Christian  homes,  where  daily  contact  with  the 
affairs  of  common  life  enters  largely  into  their  training.  The 
act  of  incorporation  passed  the  Legislature  April  6, 1849,  and 
was  amended  requiring  magistrates  to  commit  vagrant  and 
deserted  children  to  the  care  of  this  society  April  3,  1857. 

In  1856  the  society  erected  another  fine  building  on 
Twenty-ninth  street,  immediately  opposite  the  Home,  connect- 
ing the  two  with  a  bridge.  This  edifice  has  a  front  of  seventy- 
five  feet,  is  four  stories  high,  constructed  of  brick  in  the  Ro- 
manesque order,  and  contains  the  chapel,  the  Home  School 
(for  the  instruction  of  the  children  while  remaining  in  the 
Institution),  an  Industrial  School,  the  publication,  and  other 
offices  of  the  society.  The  six  lots  on  which  these  buildings 
stand  cost  originally  less  than  $12,000,  but  are  now  valued, 
exclusive  of  buildings,  at  $75,000.  The  property  of  the  so- 
ciety at  present,  including  the  four  buildings  purchased  for 
industrial  schools,  is  probably  worth  $150,000,  and  is  free  from 
debt. 

The  society  began  the  publication  of  the  "  Advocate  and 
Guardian"  in  1835,  which  has  been  a  valuable  medium  of 
communication  with  the  benevolent  public,  bringing  hundreds 
of  friends  to  select  children  or  confer  donations,  besides  bless- 
ing many  with  the  valuable  religious  matter  with  which  it  has 
always  been  filled.  Its  circulation  amounts  to  about  26,000 
at  present,  bringing  a  small  revenue  above  its  expenses. 

The  society  conducts  its  business  through  a  president,  vice- 
president,  two  secretaries,  a  treasurer,  and  thirty-five  or  more 
managers,  annually  elected,  representing  the  different  Evan- 


THE  AMERICAN  FEMALE  GUARDIAN  SOCIETY. 


433 


gelical  denominations.  These  are  divided  into  the  necessary 
committees,  and  give  much  time  to  the  Institution.  Seventeen 
years  ago  the  society  opened  its  first  industrial  school,  Mrs. 
Wilson  having  previously  established  the  feasibility  of  such  an 
undertaking.  It  has  now  eleven  of  these  schools  securely 
founded  in  different  parts  of  the  city,  with  an  average  daily 
attendance  of  about  1,200  children,  while  the  names  of  sev- 
eral thousand  are  on  register.  These  are  emphatically  mis- 
sion movements,  as  they  are  established  among  and  gather  in 
the  most  ignorant  and  degraded  of  the  population.  Thou- 
sands of  ragged,  neglected  girls  treading  the  slippery  glaciers 
of  time,  and  certain  to  plunge  after  a  short  career  of  vice  into 
the  darkest  ruin,  are  thus  annually  reached,  instructed  in  let- 
ters, and  trained  to  useful  industry.  But  the  influence  ex- 
tends beyond  the  children.  The  parents  are  reached,  and 
soon  a  mothers'  meeting  is  established.  Women  who  have  not 
seen  the  inside  of  a  church  in  thirty  years,  perhaps  never,  are 
drawn  out  to  a  mother^  meeting  composed  of  women  as  ignor- 
ant and  poor  as  themselves,  where  the  Scriptures  are  read, 
prayer  offered,  and  exhortations  given  by  earnest  women  who 
go  out  to  seek  and  save  the  lost.  Many  are  awakened,  some 
converted,  nearly  all  are  improved.  Rum  and  other  evils  are 
partially  or  entirely  abandoned,  industry  and  its  attendant 
blessings  follow.  The  amount  of  good  accomplished  in  this 
single  branch  is  incalculable. 

Another  branch  is  the  Dorcas  Department.  This  contains 
the  garments,  bedding,  etc.,  sent  in  barrels  and  boxes  from 
hundreds  of  churches  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  and 
what  is  prepared  by  the  benevolent  in  the  city.  From  these 
shelves  supplies  are  drawn  to  cover  the  half -naked  children 
admitted  to  the  Home,  and  to  fit  them  for  a  long  journey  to  a 
country  home  with  their  newly-appointed  guardians.  Poor 
widows  and  deserted  women,  with  children,  are  also  assisted 
to  enable  them  to  keep  their  families  together.  The  demands 
on  these  shelves  are  enormous.  From  1847  to  1863,  over 
12,000  beneficiaries  were  admitted  to  the  Home ;  an  average 
per  annum,  including  readmissions,  of  2,000.  During  the  year 
closing  in  1869  the  report  shows  that  5,811  persons  had  re- 
ceived aid  from  the  society,  1,000  adults  had  been  provided 
with  situations,  and  452  children  had  been  in  the  Rome.  Dur- 
ing the  same  period  1,650  loaves  of  bread  had  been  given  to 
the  poor,  and  42,000  loaves  furnished  for  the  children  of  the 
industrial  schools.    During  the  year  closing  in  1870,  619,000 


434 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


meals  were  given  away,  and  nearly  as  many  furnished  with 
situations  as  during  the  previous  year. 

The  society  now  carries  forward  its  work  at  an  expense  of 
about  §70,000  per  annum.    It  has  as  yet  no  endowment,  and 
has  received  but  little  from  either  city  or  State.    It  is  emi- 
nently worthy  of  the  contributions  and  sympathy  of  the  pub 
lie. 


H03IE  FOR  INCURABLES. 

( West  Farms. ) 


11 R  public  hospitals  are  open  for  the  reception  of  such 
patients  as  entertain  a  reasonable  hope  of  recovery  or 
relief.    Were  incurables  to  be  admitted  indiscrimin- 


""^  ately,  their  wards  would  soon  be  filled  to  repletion, 
and  the  masses  for  whom  they  were  designed  would  be  hope- 
lessly excluded.  The  general  provision  made  by  the  city  for 
incurables  on  Blackwell's  Island  is  entirely  insufficient  for  the 
wants  of  the  community,  leaving  ample  scope  for  the  exercise 
of  private  charity.  Many  incurables  not  dependent  on 
charity  also  prefer  the  quietude  of  a  private  "  Home," 
where  the  ministrations  of  religion  may  be  regular^  en- 
joyed. The  Protestant  Episcopal  church  of  New  York  has 
the  honor  of  organizing  the  first  society  for  the  establishment 
of  such  an  Institution  in  the  country.  The  certificate  of  incor- 
poration bears  date  of  April  4th,  1866.  A  board  of  twenty- 
four  managers  annually  elected  are  charged  with  the  admin- 
istration of  the  affairs  of  the  society,  and  any  person  approved 
by  a  majority  of  the  managers  may  become  an  annual  member 
on  the  payment  of  ten  dollars,  a  life  member  by  the  payment 
of  one  hundred  dollars,  or  a  life  patron  by  the  payment  of 
one  thousand  To  secure  to  the  patients  greater  quietude, 
purity  of  atmosphere,  and  sunlight,  the  Home  was  located  in 
the  country.  A  wood  dwelling,  with  choice  surroundings, 
situated  at  West  Farms,  two  and  a  half  miles  above  Harlem 
Bridge,  was  first  leased  and  afterwards  purchased  by  the  so- 
ciety, and  is  still  occupied  for  the  Home.  The  residence  of 
the  superintendent  and  chaplain,  who  is  an  Episcopal  clergy- 
man, stands  in  the  rear  of  the  Home.    Though  the  Institu- 


IIOME  FOR  INCURABLES. 


435 


tion  is  under  the  management  of  the  Episcopal  church,  some 
charity  patients  have  been  admitted  from  other  denominations, 
and  pav  patients  come  when  they  can  be  admitted,  from  all 
classes  of  orderly  people.  All  admitted  are  said  to  be  taken 
for  life,  yet  the  physician's  annual  reports  give  the  number  of 
those  "  withdrawn  "  and  "  discharged," — probably  those  who 
have  unexpectedly  recovered.  Persons  are  taken  who  are 
afflicted  with  any  incurable  disease  at  any  age,  but  with  few 
exceptions  those  thus  far  received  have  belonged  to  one  of 
these  three  classes — paralytics,  subjects  of  malignant  diseases, 
and  consumptives.  Several  dreadful  cases  of  cancer,  attended 
with  indescribable  sufferings  until  vitality  has  been  devoured, 
have  been  treated  at  the  Home,  and  the  society  has  found  a 
compensation  in  the  fact  that  these  were  cases  to  which  no 
other  hospital  offered  a  suitable  asylum.  The  Home  was 
opened  June  8th,  18G6,  and  during  the  first  year  seventeen 
male  and  sixteen  female  patients  were  received,  of  whom 
four  died  and  three  withdrew,  leaving  twenty-six  under 
treatment.  At  the  close  of  the  second  year  twenty-eight  re- 
mained. During  the  year  ending  June  8,  1869,  fourteen  had 
been  admitted,  eight  had  died,  five  relieved  or  discharged,  while 
twenty-nine  remained.  Seven  or  eight  have  since  deceased, 
and  as  many  more  have  been  received.  In  May,  1869,  a  cot- 
tage a  short  distance  from  the  Home  was  hired  and  soon  filled, 
one  of  the  managers  generously  presenting  his  own  check 
for  the  entire  rent.  Most  institutions  boast  of  the  numbers 
admitted  and  sent  away  in  triumph,  but  this,  from  the  pecu- 
liar nature  of  the  charity,  can  mention  only  the  few  who, 
though  far  beyond  hope  of  recoveiy,  are  so  nourished  and 
watched  over  that  life  is  protracted  for  months  and  sometimes 
years.  Pay  patients  are  admitted  for  six  dollars  per  week, 
unless  separate  rooms  are  taken,  when  the  price  is  increased 
to  eight  or  ten. 

The  Home,  considering  the  limited  numbnr  received,  has 
been  an  expensive  charity,  the  patients  being  for  the  most 
part  helpless,  requiring  constant  attention  and  a  varied  and 
liberal  diet.  The  expenditures  of  the  Home  the  first  year 
amounted  to  $6,849.29,  toward  which  the  pay  patients  contrib- 
uted $1,844.  During  the  year  ending  June  8,  1869,  the  ex- 
penditures, including  some  increase  of  furniture  and  small  re- 
pairs of  buildings,  amounted  to  over  $14,000,  toward  which  the 
pay  patients  contributed  $3,343.  The  report  at  close  of  year, 
June  8,  1870,  showed  that  besides  covering  all  past  expendi- 


436 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS 


tures  the  society  had  an  invested  fund  amounting  to  $36,000. 
The  society  has  neither  solicited  nor  received  assistance  from 
the  public  treasuries,  but  has  been  generously  remembered  by 
private  Christian  charity.  A  single  donation  from  Messrs. 
Henry  and  Chauncey  Kose  amounted  to  $30,000.  From  the 
estate  of  Peter  Lorillard  $2*500  have  been  received,  besides 
numerous  smaller  sums  from  many  friends  of  the  enterprise. 
During  the  last  year  forty-five  patients  have  been  in  the  In- 
stitution, of  whom  thirty  remain.  The  report  of  1869  ap- 
pealed for  $100,000  to  enable  the  managers  to  so  enlarge  the 
Home  as  to  accommodate  one  hundred  patients.  The  last  re- 
port follows  in  the  same  strain,  recommending  the  erection 
of  a  large  hall  for  the  aged.  The  Institution  should  be  en- 
larged, and  doubtless  soon  will  be. 


THE  SAMARITAN  HOME  FOR  THE  AGED. 

( Corner  of  Ninth  avenue  and  Fourteenth  street. ) 


iM$iPHE  association  for  the  establishment  of  this  Institu- 
tion  was  organized  at  the  residence  of  Mrs.  James 
W^RI  McVickar,  April  15,  1866,  and  the  act  incorporating 
the  society  passed  the  Legislature  March  23,  1867. 
The  enterprise  was  at  first  intended  to  provide  for  aged 
and  indigent  females,  and  grew  mainly  out  of  these  two  facts : 
First,  the  several  institutions  of  a  similar  character  were 
known  to  be  so  crowded  that  applicants  were  constantly  re- 
fused for  want  of  room ;  secondly,  because  all  others  of  the 
kind  in  the  city,  with  a  single  exception,  were  denominational, 
and  their  doors  closed  against  applicants,  however  worthy, 
from  other  religious  bodies.  The  printed  circular  distribu- 
ted at  its  organization  declared  that  the  "  Home  "  should  "  be 
absolutely  free  from  all  sectarian  bias,  and  open,  in  its  direc- 
tion and  its  objects,  to  persons  of  all  Protestant  denomina- 
tions." That  its  "  Board  of  Managers  "  should  "  always  con- 
tinue to  represent  indiscriminately  our  common  Protestant 
Christianity  in  all  its  various  forms."  At  the  election  of  its 
officers  and  managers  ladies  connected  with  the  Episcopal, 


THE  SAMARITAN  HOME  FOR  THE  AGED. 


437 


Dutch  Reformed,  Unitarian,  Baptist,  Quaker,  Methodist, 
Universalist,  and  Presbyterian  Churches  were  elected.  An 
advisory  committee  of  gentlemen,  a  legal  adviser,  and  a  phy- 
sician, were  also  appointed.  The  society  began  its  benevo- 
lent undertaking  in  a  hired  building  at  253  West  Thirty- 
seventh  street,  in  May,  1866,  ten  months  before  its  legal 
incorporation.  None  are  admitted  under  sixty-five  years  of 
age,  except  in  special  extreme  cases.  An  entrance  fee  of  $100 
was  at  first  required  of  those  admitted,  but  the  constantly 
increasing  expense  of  living,  and  the  uncertainties  of  income, 
have  led  the  managers  to  advance  the  price  to  $250.  The 
first  inmate  of  the  Samaritan  Home  was  an  American  wo- 
man of  seventy,  who  had  always  supported  herself  until  by 
partial  paralysis  was  left  helpless  and  homeless. 

The  attention  of  the  society  was  also  early  directed  to  the 
pitiable  condition  of  many  aged  and  homeless  men.  Some  of 
these  had  been  once  the  children  of  fortune,  others  for  a 
period  successful  merchants,  but  having  outlived  their  fam- 
ilies and  encountered  reverses  which  had  swept  away  their 
means,  were  now  pining  away  the  evening  of  their  career 
in  saddest  destitution  and  friendlessness.  Destitute  of  all 
those  arts  of  self-accommodation,  that  tact  and  skill  in  the 
kitchen  and  nursery  which  render  the  presence  of  an  infirm 
woman  more  endurable  and  less  trying  to  charity,  how 
dreary  the  lot  of  old  men  who  have  known  better  days,  to 
find  themselves  in  the  last  twilight  of  existence,  when  retire- 
ment and  comfort  are  so  desirable,  wifeless,  penniless,  friend- 
less, childless,  or,  what  is  still  worse,  to  have  ungrateful  chil- 
dren who  leave  them  to  eke  out  their  last  sad  hours  in  a 
crowded,  squalid  almshouse,  with  heartless  officials  for  their 
only  guardians.  In  May,  1868,  two  years  after  the  formal 
opening  of  the  Home,  the  department  for  aged  men  was 
opened.  This  necessitated  the  hiring  and  iurnishing  of 
another  house,  which  was  taken  on  the  same  block,  No.  259 
West  Thirty-seventh  street.  These  buildings  were,  however, 
unsuited  to  the  enterprise,  being  old,  cold,  and  without  cellars. 
On  the  1st  of  May,  1869,  the  managers  leased  and  transferred 
the  Home  to  the  corner  of  Ninth  avenue  and  Fourteenth 
street.  This  building  is  a  large  double  house,  fifty  feet  front, 
constructed  of  brick,  with  three  stories  and  basement,  bisected 
with  halls,  and  is  well  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  Institution. 
It  is  surrounded  by  fine  open  grounds  for  gardening,  and  is 
leased  for  five  years,  at  an  expense  of  about  five  thousand 


438 


NEW  TOKK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


dollars  per  annum.  It  belongs  to  the  Astor  property,  and 
that  wealthy  family  could  hardly  dispose  of  it  better  than  to 
donate  it  to  the  Samaritan  Home. 

Persons  are  received  at  the  Home  on  a  probation  of  three 
months,  after  which  period  the  board  takes  definite  action  in 
the  case.  If  the  applicant  is  not  confirmed  as  a  permanent 
inmate,  the  admission  fee  is  returned,  deducting  board  at  two 
dollars  per  week  since  the  date  of  admission.  Those  admit- 
ted are  expected  to  assist,  if  able,  in  performing  the  light  work 
of  the  house  and  garden.  No  system  of  labor  has  yet  been 
introduced  to  provide  income,  the  inmates  being  too  much 
broken  down  to  perform  much  service.  During  1868  three 
of  the  aged  women  and  one  of  the  men  passed  away  to  the  bet- 
ter land.  In  1869  two  more  aged  ladies  died,  and  in  1872 four 
more  were  laid  to  rest.  Mr.  Charles  T.  Cromwell  some  time 
since  presented  the  Home  with  a  fine  burial-place  at  Cypress 
Hill  Cemetery,  which  is  already  occupied  by  the  remains  of 
the  mouldering  dead.  Like  all  societies,  this  in  its  beginnings 
had  its  struggles  with  poverty  and  the  indifference  of  the 
public,  but  it  has  passed  the  crisis.  Its  managers  have  not 
only  met  their  expenditures,  but  have  established  a  building 
fund  which  already  amounts  to  over  §20,000.  Its  friends  are 
now  annually  cheered  with  a  few  large  and  many  small  do- 
nations, besides  its  annual  subscribers,  upon  whom  it  mainly 
relies  for  support.  The  expense  of  the  Institution  amounts  to 
§9,000  or  $10,000  per  annum. 

Living  near  the  Home,  we  have  often  visited  it  and  found 
it  always  a  well-ordered  asylum  of  comfort  and  refinement. 
There  are  now  twenty  aged  men  and  twenty-four  women  com- 
fortably domiciled  in  their  appropriate  apartments,  with  space 
for  several  more.  The  men  can  be  seen  any  day  occupied 
with  light  tasks  around  the  garden  and  yards,  or  reading  their 
favorite  books.  The  women,  seated  in  easy  chairs,  spend  their 
day  between  light  needle-work  or  knitting,  and  in  reading  the 
religious  magazines.  All  appear  cheerful  and  contented. 
They  speak  of  their  matron,  Mrs.  Jane  Sykes,  in  terms  of 
high  appreciation.  Divine  service  is  conducted  by  some 
clergyman  every  Sabbath,  and  religion  sheds  it  hallowed  ra- 
diance among  them  through  all  the  year.  Turning  away 
from  the  door  of  this  Good  Samaritan,  wre  can  but  pray  that 
if  may  long  survive  to  pour  wine  and  oil  into  the  wTounded 
heart  of  hoary  humanity. 


THE  COLORED  HOME. 


(Sixty -fifth  street  and  First  avenue.) 


fHE  first  meeting  for  the  organization  of  this  excellent 
charity  is  believed  to  have  been  convened  at  the 
residence  of  Mrs.  Maria  Banyer,  at  No.  20  Bond 
street,  in  the  autumn  of  1839.  The  plan  for  reliev- 
ing the  suffering  poor  among  the  colored  population  is  said 
to  have  originated  with  Miss  Shotwell,  Miss  Jay,  the  first 
contributor,  generously  presenting  a  thousand  dollars  toward 
the  founding  of  the  Home  at  their  first  meeting.  At  a  sub- 
sequent meeting  a  board  of  managers  was  formed,  a  consti- 
tution adopted,  and  the  organization  perfected  under  the  title 
of  "  The  Society  for  the  Kelief  of  Worthy  Aged  Colored 
Persons."  It  was  duly  incorporated  in  1845,  under  the  title 
of  "  The  Society  for  the  Support  of  the  Colored  Home." 
Soon  after  its  first  organization  a  building  on  the  North  river, 
known  as  "  Woodside,"  was  opened,  and  twelve  inmates  at 
once  received.  Through  the  liberality  of  Mr.  Horsburgh, 
a  property  on  Fortieth  street  and  Fourth  avenue  was  pur- 
chased in  1843.  The  act  of  incorporation,  in  1845,  was 
followed  by  a  grant  of  $10,000  from  the  Legislature,  which 
sum  had  been  previously  appropriated  toward  the  erection 
of  a  State  Hospital  in  this  city,  but  was  now  transferred  to 
the  managers  of  the  Colored  Home  for  t  he  erection  of  perma- 
nent buildings.  The  next  year  arrangements  were  made  with 
the  Commissioners  of  the  Poor,  which  still  continues  to  re- 
ceive, at  a  verv  low  rate,  the  colored  paupers  of  the  city, 
unless  medically  unfit  for  the  Colored  Home.  Forty-four 
lots  of  ground  on  First  avenue,  between  Sixty-fourth  and 
Sixty-fifth  streets,  were  purchased  in  1848,  and  the  following 
year  a  portion  of  the  buildings  now  occupied  were  completed. 
The  Institution  consists  of  four  departments — the  Home'  for 
Aged  and  Indigent  the  Hospital,  the  Nursery,  and  the  Ly- 
ing-in Department.  The  admissions  to  the  Hospital  exceed 
those  of  the  other  tnree  divisions  combined.  The  buildings 
at  present  form  a  hollow  square,  with  a  fine  flowTer-garden  in 
the  center.  Fronting  on  Sixty- fifth  street  stands  the  beauti- 
ful brick  chapel  erected  in  1858,  under  the  supervision  of  the 
excellent  chaplain  MacFarlan.    The  first  floor  of  this  build- 


440 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS 


ing  contains  a  parlor,  appropriate  apartments  for  the  superin- 
tendent, steward,  physician,  matron,  and  the  dispensary.  On 
the  floor  above  is  the  chapel,  well  arranged,  with  galleries  on 
the  sides,  and  seatings  for  six  hundred  persons.  From  either 
end  of  this  building  extend  at  right  angles  the  male  and  the 
female  wings,  four  stories  high,  capable  of  accommodating  a 
hundred  and  twenty  persons  each.  Each  floor  is  a  ward  ex- 
tending the  whole  length  of  the  building,  and  contains 
twenty-eight  beds.  These  wings  are  connected  in  the  rear 
by  another  two-story  building,  divided  into  smaller  apartments 
containing  from  five  to  eighteen  beds  each.  This  is  devoted, 
in  part,  to  the  nursery  and  the  lying-in  department,  founded 
by  the  bequest  of  Mrs.  Jacob  Shatzel  in  1847.  About  fifty 
are  annually  received  into  this  last-named  department,  who 
leave  when  they  are  able,  some  to  service  in  Christian  families, 
others  to  their  old  habits  of  vice  and  dissipation.  The  build- 
ings are  heated  with  stoves,  and  baths  with  hot  and  cold 
water  have  recently  been  introduced.  The  nursery  contains 
children  over  three  years  of  age,  who  cannot  gain  admittance 
into  the  Colored  Orphan  Asylum.  The  average  number  in 
this  department  is  about  twenty.  The  Institution  is  designed 
for  the  colored  poor  of  New  York  county,  yet,  when  space 
will  allow,  persons  from  outside  the  county  are  taken,  and 
pay  one  dollar  and  eighty-two  cents  per  week  if  they  require 
medicine,  and  if  not,  one  dollar  and  five  cents,  three  months 
pay  being  required  in  advance.  The  State  appropriated 
$12,000  to  this  charity  in  1866,  in  1867  $3,858,  and  over 
$4,000  have  since  been  received  from  the  same  source.  The 
Commissioners  of  Charities  and  Corrections  pay  a  stipulated 
price  for  the  board  of  pensioners  admitted  under  their  direc- 
tion, but  this  is  only  a  moiety  of  what  is  actually  expended  in 
their  support.  The  excellent  Chauncey  Rose  remembered  the 
Institution  with  a  bequest  of  $16,000.  About  one  thousand 
persons  are  annually  cared  for,  at  an  expense  of  about  $30,000. 
Dr.  James  D.  Fitch  held  the  position  of  resident  physician 
twenty-six  years.  The  Institution  has  a  chaplain,  a  resident, 
a  house,  and  an  assistant  house  physician,  which  receive  a 
trifling  pecuniary  compensation  for  much  earnest  labor. 
Many  of  the  inmates  are  very  old,  some  pressing  into  their 
second  century.  Most  of  the  inmates  arc  pious,  and,  as  the 
majority  of  them  are  Methodists,  the  chaplain  is  selected  from 
that  denomination,  though  ministers  and  missionaries  from 
all  evangelical  churches  are  always  well  received.    The  in- 


THE  COLORED  HOME. 


441 


mates  hold  prayer-meetings  in  their  rooms,  in  addition  to  the 
regular  services.  Every  winter  a  Christmas  tree  grows  up 
suddenly,  whose  prolific  branches  bring  forth  something  nice 
for  every  inmate,  which  is  received  with  great  joy.  On  these 
occasions  addresses  are  delivered  by  some  of  the  prominent 
men  of  New  York,  and  this  holiday  period  is  remembered 
with  much  interest  all  the  year. 


ST.  LUKE'S  HOME  IN  HUDSON  STREET. 


ST.  LUKE'S  HOME  FOR  INDIGENT  CHRISTIAN  FEMALES. 

{Madison  avenue  and  Eighty -ninth  street.) 

This  Institution  was  originally  opened  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  on  May  1,1852.  A  year  or  two  previous  to  that,  an 
aged  female  called  at  the  rectory  of  St.  Luke's  church,  in 
Hudson  street,  and  asked  the  rector,  Rev.  Isaac  H.  Tuttle, 
whether  there  was  not  an  asylum  or  a  home  of  the  Episcopal 
church,  where  a  lady  of  fourscore  might  find  a  retreat  for  her 
remaining  days.  The  good  man  replied,  "  Madam,  I  am  sorry 
to  say  our  church  has  none,  but  by  the  grace  of  God  it  shall 
have;"  and  from  that  day  he  set  about  the  work  of  estab- 
lishing that  much-needed  Institution.  On  St.  Luke's  Day, 
October  18,  1851,  lie  preached  a  sermon  on  the  importance 
of  founding  a  Home  of  this  kind/  He  conferred  with  some 
of  1 1 is  clerical  brethren  on  the  subject,  and  invited  several 
of  li is  congregation  to  meet  at  the  rectory  and  consider  the 


st.  luke's  home  foe  indigent  christian  females.  443 


subject.  Soon  a  constitution  was  adopted,  and  a  subscription 
liberally  signed  to  support  the  charity.  Two  floors  in  a  build- 
ing were  first  hired,  and  several  women,  who  had  some  em- 
ployment, were  allowed  to  occupy  these  furnished  rooms 
gratuitously.  Next  an  entire  building  was  leased,  the  first  floor 
rented  for  a  store,  and  the  remaining  three  occupied  as  the 
Home.  Such  as  lacked  the  means  of  procuring  food  were 
assisted  by  their  personal  friends,  or  by  members  of  St.  Luke's* 
church.  After  a  few  years,  its  managers  resolved  to  make 
the  enterprise  more  genc/a1,  and  to  enlarge  its  plans  aud 
accommodations. 

The  Legislature  passed  an  act  of  incorporation  in  1S56  or 
1857,  and  it  thus  passed  from  a  parish  to  a  general  institution 
under  the  control  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church  of  New 
York.  The  real  estate  and  finances  are  vested  in  a  board  of 
managers  numbering  not  less  than  seven  or  more  than  twenty- 
one  ministers  and  laymen  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church, 
of  whom  the  bishop  of  the  diocese  is  the  president,  and  the 
vice-president  is  the  rector  of  the  Institution.  An  associate 
board  of  lady  managers  has  charge  of  the  internal  workings 
of  the  Institution,  and  now  numbers  in  its  board  representa- 
tives from  thirty-eight  churches.  About  the  time  of  its  in- 
corporation a  large  brick  dwelling  immediately  adjoining  St. 
Luke's  church  was  purchased,  the  ground  being  leased  for  a 
term  of  years.  This  edifice  was  afterwards  enlarged,  but  was 
never  large  enough  to  accommodate  over  thirty-two  inmates 
at  one  time.  A  desire  for  a  larger  edifice  led  to  an  effort 
to  collect  a  building  fund,  and  §19,000  thus  collected  were 
deposited  in  United  States  securities  in  the  safe  of  the  Hoyal 
Insurance  Company,  which  was  robbed,  inflicting  a  loss  of 
$14,000  on  this  society.  This  delayed  the  erection  of  the  new 
building  several  years,  but  the  difficulty  has  been  overcome. 
On  the  eighteenth  of  October,  1870,  the  comer-stone  of  the 
much.-desired  structure  was  la*;d  by  Bishop  Potter,  in  the 
presence  of  a  large  number  of  the  clergy  and  citizens  of  New 
York. 

The  building  is  located  on  the  north-east  corner  of  Madison 
avenue  and  Eighty -ninth  street,  one  block  from  the  Central 
Park,  and  two  blocks  only  from  one  of  the  principal  en- 
trances to  the  Park. 

The  building  is  four  stories  high  and  in  the  form  of  an  L, 
with  main  entrance  on  the  corner ;  it  extends  eighty  feet  on 
Madison  avenue  and  seventy-five  feet  on  the  street.  The 


444 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


style  is  medieval  Gothic,  with  Mansard  roof,  and  three  towers. 
The  materials  are  Philadelphia  pressed  brick  trimmed  with 
Bnena  Vista  stone. 

On  the  first  floor  is  a  vestibule,  a  fine  octagonal  hall,  15  x 
15,  a  large  room,  38  x  19,  for  the  meetings  of  managers,  and 
a  dining-room,  33  x  19,  intended  to  seat  some  sixty  or  seventy 
persons ;  the  whole  so  arranged  that  by  opening  folding-doors  a 
sweep  of  over  seventy-three  feet  can  be  obtained.  Back  of  the 
main  entrance  hall  is  a  roomy  inner  private  hall  and  corridors 
leading  to  dining-room,  etc.  On  the  same  floor  will  also  be 
found  the  matron's  room  and  office,  the  infirmaries,  the  rector's 
and  doctor's  office,  and  five  chambers,  adapted  to  the  use  of 
such  of  the  inmates  as  may,  through  great  age  or  infirmity, 
find  it  difficult  to  ascend  the  stairs. 

Two  elevators  ascend  to  the  upper  story,  and  three  stair- 
ways afford  means  of  escape  in  case  of  fire.  There  are  208 
doors,  114  windows,  67  marble  wash-basins,  and  77  rooms, 
affording  space  for  seventy-four  inmates.  The  building  was 
erected  with  the  strictest  economy,  and  cost  $55,000. 

On  grounds  contiguous  to  the  Home,  Miss  Caroline 
Talman  has  just  erected  a  small  church,  a  memorial  of  her 
deceased  parents,  thus  securing  to  the  beneficiaries  of  the 
Home  a  convenient  place  for  public  worship. 

Applicants  for  admission  into  the  Home  must  be  persons 
of  respectability  in  reduced  circumstances,  and  members  of 
churches  represented  in  the  board  of  associate  managers, 
and  contributing  to  the  support  of  the  Institution.  An  ad- 
mission fee  of  one  hundred  dollars  is  required  from  each 
beneficiary,  and  the  person  is  then  received  for  life.  Every 
inmate,  if  able,  is  required  to  keep  her  own  room  in  a  neat  and 
clean  condition,  to  take  her  turn  in  dusting  the  parlor  and  in 
washing  the  dishes;  but  if  ill,  her  meals  are  carried  to  her 
room,  and  the  attention  of  the  physician  and  the  nurses 
promptly  provided.  The  Institution  contains  a  library  of 
pleasant  and  interesting  books,  and  visitors  read  to  those  who 
are  sick  or  unable  to  read  for  themselves.  The  old  ladies  at 
the  Home,  in  March,  1867,  formed  themselves  into  a  benevo- 
lent society,  to  fashion  little  garments  for  the  children  of  the 
"  Sheltering  Arms,"  anotherlnstitution  of  the  same  denomin- 
ation. The  material  they  obtain  from  their  friends  outside, 
and  do  much  more  than  one  would  suppose  The  first  year 
after  their  organization  they  gave  away  25  pairs  of  hospital 
slippers,  109  garments,  48  pillow-slips,  2  dresses,  and  15 


ST.  LUKE'S  HOME  FOR  INDIGENT  CHRISTIAN  FEMALES.  445 


pairs  of  knit  stockings.  Thus,  while  they  receive,  they  find 
it  blessed  to  give.  Many  applicants  have  long  been  waiting 
admission  into  the  Home,  and  a  tew  years  since  one  actually 
died  of  joy  on  receiving  the  welcome  summons  to  enter  the 
Institution.  The  old  building  in  Hudson-street  was,  in  1873, 
opened  as  an  institution  for  u  Old  Men  and  Aged  Couples," 
by  another  organization  of  the  same  denomination. 


PRESBYTERIAN  HOME  FOR  AGED  WOMEN. 


{East  Seventy -third  street.) 

The  first  Presbyterian  church  in  New  York  was  erected 
in  1719,  since  which  many  costly  structures  have  been 
reared,  and  the  denomination  now  ranks  among  the  most 
populous,  wealthy,  and  benevolent  of  the  city.  But  while 
the  members  of  this  church  have  contributed  liberally  to 
many  excellent  enterprises,  it  is  a  little  remarkable  that  no 
charitable  institution  distinctly  Presbyterian  was  ever  pro- 
jected until  very  recently.  In  April,  1866,  several  ladies, 
members  of  the  different  Presbyterian  churches  of  the  city, 
moved  with  the  laudable  desire  to  provide  for  the  poor  mem- 
bers of  their  own  communion,  invited  their  pastors  to  confer 
with  them  and  consider  the  propriety  of  establishing  a 
"Home  for  Aged  Women,"  in  whose  advantages  Presbyter- 
ians might  specially  share,  and  in  whose  direction  they  should 
have  entire  control.    The  meeting  was  held  in  the  lecture- 


PRESBYTERIAN  HOME  EOR  AGED  WOMEN. 


447 


room  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church,  and  was  entirely  suc- 
cessful. The  facts  disclosed  at  this  conference  showed  so 
clearly  the  want  of  such  an  Institution,  that  the  pastors  and 
members  present  pledged  a  cordial  support  in  the  undertak- 
ing. A  board  of  thirty- two  female  managers,  and  an  advis- 
ory committee  of  five  gentlemen,  were  accordingly  elected, 
and  measures  taken  to  immediately  inaugurate  the  enterprise. 
On  the  eighth  of  June  the  building  No.  45  Grove  street,  then 
known  as  the  "  Lincoln  Home,"  which  had  been  a  temporary 
hospital  for  disabled  soldiers  and  sailors,  was  rented,  and 
after  much  cleansing  pronounced  ready  for  occupation. 
The  first  inmate  was  received  on  the  ninth  of  July;  the  next 
day  another  was  added ;  on  the  twenty-third  one  more,  and 
the  report  at  the  end  of  the  year  showed  that  fifteen  had 
been  admitted.  No  regular  matron  was  appointed  until 
October,  and  her  official  relation  to  the  Institution  was  dis- 
solved the  following  spring,  and  the  present  incumbent  ap- 
pointed. The  society  continued  its  operations  in  the  same 
house  until  April,  1870,  when,  its  new  and  commodious  build- 
ing having  been  completed,  the  family  was  removed  to  it. 
The  house  in  Grove  street  was  never  able  to  accommodate 
over  thirty,  besides  the  matron  and  servants ;  hence  a  small 
number  only  of  those  anxious  to  gain  admission  could  be  re- 
ceived. During  those  four  years,  however,  fifty  beneficiaries 
were  admitted,  three  of  whom  died  the  second  year,  six  the 
third,  and  several  the  year  following.  Among  the  inmates 
the  managers  mention  the  mother  of  a  Presbyterian  clergy- 
man, the  widowed  mother  of  a  devoted  and  successful  mis- 
sionary to  China,  and  the  daughter  of  Dr.  McKnight,  one  of 
the  early  pastors  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church  of  this  city. 
The  act  of  incorporation  passed  the  Legislature  December 
7, 1866.  The  Institution  is  called  the  Presbyterian  Home,  but 
its  doors  are  open  to  Congregationalists,  to  the  Reformed 
Dutch,  and  to  the  several  divisions  of  the  Presbyterian  fam- 
ily, making  it  very  general  in  its  character,  certain  of  numer- 
ous beneficiaries,  and  of  liberal  supporters.  All  applicants 
for  admission  must  be  sixty-five  years  uf  age,  residents  of  New 
York  city,  having  been  three  years  a  member  of  the  church, 
and  recommended  by  the  church  session.  Three  dollars  per 
week  must  be  paid  for  board,  and  at  death  the  funeral  ex- 
enses  defrayed  by  the  church  or  party  made  responsible  at 
er  entrance. 

The  auspicious  beginning  of  the  enterprise  led  the  man- 


448  NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 

agers  at  the  close  of  the  first  year  to  confidently  appeal  to  the 
benevolence  of  the  denomination  for  the  meana  to  build  and 
furnish  an  asylum  in  some  sense  adequate  to  the  wants  of 
the  churches  interested.  This  was  soon  responded  to  by 
Mr.  James  Lenox,  by  the  donation  of  four  choice  lots  of 
ground  on  Seventy-third  street,  between  Madison  and  Fourth 
avenues,  worth  $40,000.  Donations  of  money  came  also 
from  many  sources,  so  that  at  the  end  of  the  year  $13,000 
were  invested  as  a  building  fund,  and  the  third  report  showed 
that  $62,000  had  been  contributed  toward  building.  The 
building  when  completed  was  appropriately  dedicated,  Drs. 
Paxton,  Murray,  Thomson,  Hall,  and  several  distinguished 
laymen  taking  part  in  the  exercises.  The  edifice  is  an  elegant 
four-story  brick,  trimmed  with  Ohio  freestone,  surmounted 
by  a  chaste  tower,  and  is  charmingly  arranged  for  the  accom- 
modation of  the  inmates.  All  its  rooms  and  halls  are  lighted 
from  the  exterior.  There  are  two  staircases  extending  to  the 
upper  story,  and  its  heating  and  ventilating  apparatus  are  of 
the  most  approved  character.  The  basement  contains  kitchen, 
laundry,  and  other  appropriate  rooms.  The  first  floor  con- 
tains visitors'  room,  committee-room,  and  well-arranged  chapel, 
with  seating  for  a  hundred  and  fifty  persons.  The  next  floor 
has  an  infirmary,  a  ladies'  room,  and  the  rooms  for  the  most 
infirm.  The  interior  is  supplied  with  iron  doors,  and  the 
entire  structure  nearly  fire-proof,  the  staircases  being  of  iron, 
with  little  wood-work  exposed  to  the  action  of  fire.  The 
edifice  cost  over  $100,000,  and  is  the  finest  building  of  its 
kind  yet  reared  on  the  island.  The  Institution  will,  however, 
soon  be  too  small  to  accommodate  the  aged  and  worthy  poor 
of  the  one  hundred  and  sixteen  churches  connected  with  the 
enterprise.  May  these  consecrated  homes  of  piety  and  rest 
for  the  comfort  of  the  worthy  poor  be  multiplied  in  all  our 
denominations,  until  saintly  pilgrims  are  no  longer  left  in 
penury  to  Buffer  alone. 


UNION  HOME  AND  SCHOOL. 


{One  Hundred  and  Fifty-first  street  and  the  Boulevard.) 

The  care  of  orphan  and  friendless  children  is  always  one  of 
the  first  duties  of  Christian  civilization;  but  when  the  parents 
of  these  dependent  ones  bravely  sacrificed  their  lives  in  de- 
fence of  their  native  land,  the  least  that  a  nation's  gratitude 
can  do  is  to  provide  maintenance  and  culture  for  their  helpless 
offspring.  On  the  22d  day  of  May,  1861,  a  few  patriotic 
women,  almost  without  means,  but  impelled  by  the  pressing 
necessity  of  making  some  provision  for  the  children  of  those 
who  were  certain  to  be  sacrificed  in  the  impending  struggle, 
organized  the  "  Union  Home  and  School  for  the  Maintenance 
and  Instruction  of  the  Children  of  our  Volunteer  Soldiers  and 
Sailors.'*  The  act  of  incorporation  passed  the  Legislature 
April  22,  1862.  Until  1867  the  Institution  was  carried  on 
in  an  inconvenient  hired  building  not  capable  of  accommodat- 
ing over  eighty  children,  and  supported  by  the  contributions 


450 


NEW  YORK  AND   ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


of  the  benevolent,  an  occasional  fair,  and  some  small  State 
appropriations.  In  1867  a  large  festival  was  planned,  from 
which  the  handsome  sum  of  $98,998.40  was  realized.  This 
enabled  the  managers  to  pay  all  their  outstanding  indebted- 
ness, including  the  mortgage  on  a  building  and  six  lots  of 
land  purchased  the  previous  year  for  $28,000,  on  Fifty-eighth 
street,  and  make  other  preparations  for  enlargement.  About 
this  time  the  propriety  of  removing  the  Institution  to  the 
country,  where  land  was  cheap,  began  to  be  discussed,  and  ac- 
cordingly a  large  frame  building,  known  as  the  "  Laurel  Hill 
Seminary,"  at  Deposit,  Delaware  county,  was  purchased  and 
repaired,  at  an  expense  of  over  $16,000.  The  building,  how- 
ever, did  not  prove  satisfactory,  the  children  suffered  with 
diseased  eyes,  and  arrangements  were  made  to  remove  again 
to  New  York.  In  the  spring  of  1868  the  managers  purchased 
the  Fields  mansion,  situated  at  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-first 
street  and  the  Boulevard,  with  ten  lots  of  ground,  for  $32,000. 
The  property  on  Fifty-eighth  street  has  since  been  sold  to  pay 
for  this  new  property  at  Washington  Heights.  The  Fields 
mansion  is  a  large  brick  edifice,  with  stone  facings,  seventy 
by  eighty  feet,  and  when  purchased  was  three  stories  high. 
Over  $11,000  were  expended  in  repairs.  But  when  the  fam- 
ily had  just  settled,  the  ladies  were  notified  by  the  Commis- 
sioners of  Central  Park  that  the  edifice  must  be  removed  at 
least  twenty-five  feet,  by  April,  1869,  to  make  way  for  the 
opening  of  the  Boulevard.  What  would  have  once  been  con- 
sidered an  impossibility  has  been  successfully  accomplished  ; 
the  building  was  moved  forty  feet,  improved  with  two  addi- 
tional stories  and  a  Mansard  roof,  at  an  expense  of  about 
$25,000.  When  compelled  to  remove  the  children  for  the 
removal  and  repairs  of  the  building,  it  was  proposed  to  trans- 
fer them  to  the  building  at  Deposit,  but  about  that  time  news 
was  received  that  this  building  had  just  been  destroyed  by 
lire.  Its  value  was  nearly  covered  by  insurance.  Happily  an 
old-fashioned  country  house  near  Harlem  bridge  was  leased 
for  a  few  months,  until  the  building  at  Washington  Heights 
could  be  put  in  order.  On  the  6th  of  June,  1870,  the  newly 
refitted  Home  and  School  was  reopened  with  appropriate  ser- 
vices, the  children  having  been  previously  transferred  to  it. 
The  building  is  well  adapted  to  its  use,  and  has  accommoda- 
tions for  three  hundred  and  fifty  children.  The  kitchen, 
laundry,  and  dining-room  are  in  the  basement.  The  first 
floor  contains  the  reception-room,  a  fine  committee-room,  a 


UNION  HOME  AND  SCHOOL.  451 

*arge  chapel,  and  two  school-rooms,  which  can  be  connected 
with  the  former  for  Divine  service.  The  other  stories  are  de- 
voted to  dormitories,  school-rooms,  etc.  One  room  is  called 
the  armory,  and  contains  the  hoys'  uniform  and  miniature 
sabres,  which  they  are  allowed  to  wear  on  public  occasions. 
Several  acres  of  ground  at  least  should  be  connected  with  the 
Institution,  to  afford  the  play  and  exercise  necessary  for  the 
health  of  the  youthful  inmates.  The  location  is  certainly  one 
of  the  finest  in  the  world,  situated  on  a  lofty  eminence,  fanned 
with  pure  breezes,  and  surrounded  with  trees  and  yards  of 
surprising  beauty.  The  lofty  observatory  affords  a  command- 
ing view  of  the  Hudson  and  the  East  rivers,  the  New  York 
bay,  and  the  surrounding  country.  Up  to  January,  1870, 
three  thousand  and  forty  children  had  been  admitted.  The 
only  condition  required  for  admission  is  proper  evidence  that 
they  are  the  children  of  soldiers  or  sailors,  and  that  the  sur- 
viving parent,  if  any,  is  unable  to  support  them.  No  pay- 
ment is  required  for  food,  clothing,  or  instruction.  No  papers 
of  surrender  are  required  of  the  parent,  to  whom  they  are 
cheerfully  returned  as  soon  as  able  to  provide  for  them,  and 
their  vacant  places  are  immediately  filled  with  other  needy 
applicants.  The  schools  appear  to  be  well  conducted.  The 
present  matron,  Mrs.  E.  M.  Cilley,  has  very  creditably  con- 
ducted her  work.  The  Common  Council  and  the  Legislature 
have  made  several  handsome  appropriations  toward  this  en- 
-terprise.  The  Institution  is  free  from  sectarianism,  and 
clergymen  of  all  denominations  are  welcomed  to  the  Home. 
Another  fair  was  held  in  December,  1870,  in  the  Twenty- 
second  Armory,  New  York  city,  but,  owing  to  the  fact  that 
an  unusual  number  of  charity  fairs  had  just  been  held,  less 
interest  than  formerly  was  taken  in  this,  and  the  proceeds 
did  not  exceed  twenty  thousand  dollars.  The  patriotic  ladies 
who  have  so  nobly  carried  forward  this  commendable  charity 
are  worthy  of  all  honor,  and  merit  the  thanks  of  more  than 
soldiers  or  soldiers'  children.  Mrs.  U.  S.  Grant  is  the  chief 
officer  of  the  society,  having  gained  the  presidential  chair 
several  years  in  advance  of  he?  husband. 


THE  FEMALE  CHRISTIAN  HOME. 


(No.  314  East  Fifteenth  street.) 

HIS  Institution  was  established  in  the  summer  of  1863, 
by  an  association  of  benevolent  Christian  ladies,  in  a 
small  hired  building,  No.  180  East  Seventeenth  street. 
The  object  of  the  organization  was  to  provide  a  re- 
spectable Christian  home,  at  moderate  expense,  for  women 
obliged  to  earn  their  own  livelihood.    The  enterprise  proving 
a  success,  the  managers,  in  1867,  purchased  the  building  No. 
14  East  Thirteenth  street  for  $18,000.    The  number  of  in- 
mates in  this  building  never  exceeded  thirty-three  at  one 
time,  and  the  numerous  applications  made  by  worthy  females 
induced  the  managers  to  dispose  of  this  property  and  enlarge 
their  accommodations.    In  May,  1870,  the  Home  was  removed 
to  the  newly  purchased  building,  No.  314  East  Fifteenth  street. 
The  building  is  a  beautiful  four-story  brown-stone,  with 
high  basement,  twenty-six  by  seventy  feet,  and  cost  $29,000. 
From  its  windows  the  inmates  overlook  the  Stuyvesant 
Square  park,  rendered  vocal  with  feathered  songsters,  beauti- 
ful and  fragrant  with  waving  branches  and  blooming  flowers. 
The  Home  now  stands  in  one  of  the  choicest  blocks  in  that 
portion  of  the  city,  and  has  the  appearance  of  a  private  resi- 
dence.   An  indebtedness  of  $10,000  remains  on  the  property 
at  this  writing,  which  the  enterprising  managers  will  proba- 
bly remove  ere  this  volume  sees  the  light.    The  building 
contains  apartments  for  fifty  inmates,  and  is  far  too  small  to 
accommodate  the  multitudes  anxious  to  gain  admission. 

The  price  of  board  varies  from  three  dollars  and  a  half  to 
five  dollars  per  week,  according  to  the  room  occupied,  use  of 
furniture,  food,  fire,  and  light  being  included.  None  are  ad 
mitted  without  satisfactory  testimonials  to  the  propriety  of 
their  conduct,  the  respectability  of  their  characters,  and  theii 
expressed  willingness  to  submit  to  the  regulations  of  the 
Home. 

The  matron  is  charged  with  the  conduct  of  the  house,  the 
keeping  of  the  daily  accounts  of  purchases  and  donations, 
and  the  enforcement  of  the  rules. 

Morning  and  evening  prayer  is  regularly  conducted,  and 
each  inmate  is  required  to  be  present.    A  Bible-class  is  con- 


THE  HOME  FOE  FRIENDLESS  WOjtfEN". 


453 


ducted  every  Sunday  afternoon,  and  all  the  inmates  are  ex- 
pected to  attend. 

The  receipts  from  the  boarders  during  the  last  year  covered 
the  expenses,  exclusive  of  rent,  furniture,  etc.  The  inmates 
consist  of  students,  teachers,  sales-women,  book-keepers,  copy- 
ists, and  those  employed  in  the  various  departments  of  needle- 
work. 

Young  ladies  from  the  country,  spending  a  few  months  of 
study  or  business  in  New  York,  should  apply,  and  count 
themselves  happy  if  admitted  to  one  of  these  Christian  Homes 
established  during  the  last  few  years  for  the  safety  and  com- 
fort of  their  own  class. 


THE  HOME  FOR  FRIENDLESS  WOMEN. 
{No.  86  West  Fourth  street.) 

i^JSf  DEEP  and  abiding  interest  during  the  last  few  years 
jimP  nas  been  manifested  in  the  condition  of  fallen  women, 
^k&K  and  of  those  who  stand  on  the  slippery  precipice  ready 
to  descend.  This  interest  is  not  confined  to  us  nor  to 
our  country,  but  is  being  similarly  manifested  in  all  Christian 
lands.  A  few  years  ago,  a  devoted  Christian  lady  in  Glasgow 
became  concerned  about  the  outcasts  of  her  sex,  and  resolved 
to  go  to  work  in  their  behalf.  Meeting  in  the  street  one  of 
the  lowest  of  this  class,  she  procured  her  lodgings  in  a  poor 
but  pious  family,  clothed  her,  and  labored  with  her  until  she 
saw  a  change.  Then  she  procured  her  employment.  Encour- 
aged with  her  success,  and  strengthened  with  pious  asso- 
ciates, arrangements  were  made  for  enlarging  the  enterprise. 
Street  girls  were  taken,  and  soon  more  applied  than  could  be 
admitted.  In  twelve  months  they  reported  two  hundred  and 
fifty  fallen  women  reclaimed,  many  of  whom  gave  evidence 
of  saving  faith.  Only  twenty  of  those  admitted  had  relapsed, 
eighty-five  reformed  girls  had  been  restored  to  their  parents, 
forty  were  employed  as  servants,  forty-five  in  miscellaneous 
employments,  and  sixty-six  still  remained  under  their  care.  The 
Home  for  Friendless  Women  in  New  York  was  organized  by 


454 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


a  number  of  Christian  ladies  and  gentlemen  in  1865,  and  the 
building  No.  22  West  Houston  street,  having  been  leased, 
was  opened  with  suitable  religious  services  on  the  27th  of 
December  of  that  year.  At  the  close  of  the  first  year  their 
report  showed  that  one  hundred  and  twelve  had  been  admit- 
ted, of  whom  fourteen  had  been  dismissed  for  bad  conduct, 
twelve  went  out  of  their  own  accord  to  former  habits,  ten  of 
the  thirty-two  sent  to  situations  left  them,  yet  after  inquiring 
into  the  conduct  of  those  returned  to  friends,  and  of  those  re- 
maining in  the  Institution  the  society  believed  that  sixty  per 
cent,  of  the  whole  number  had  been  saved.  The  second  year 
eighty-two  were  admitted,  but  one  sent  away  for  miscon- 
duct, two  placed  there  by  friends  escaped,  forty-six  were  pro- 
vided with  situations,  twenty- three  returned  to  their  friends, 
five  sent  to  other  institutions,  three  were  honorably  married, 
and  thirty-two  remained.    Eighty-five  per  cent,  this  year 

fave  evidence  of  reformation.  During  the  seven  years  closing 
anuary,  1873,  the  whole  number  admitted  amounted  to  six 
hundred  and  twenty-six,  about  seven-tenths  of  whom  appear 
to  have  reformed.  The  society  continued  its  operations  in 
Houston  street  until  May,  1869,  when  a  more  eligible  build- 
ing was  taken  at  No.  86  West  Fourth  street.  The  building 
in  Houston  street  was  in  the  midst  of  the  evil  it  sought  to 
remove,  and  consequently  many  drifted  in  with  little  desire 
to  reform,  and  after  annoying  the  inmates  were  either  dis- 
missed or  else  departed  of  their  own  accord  to  join  old  asso- 
ciations. The  change  in  location  has  been  followed  by  a  cor- 
responding change  in  the  character  of  the  applicants.  The 
class  hardened  by  long  years  of  crime  less  frequently  apply, 
while  those  drawn  away  from  the  path  of  virtue  by  uiisplaced 
affection,  sudden  temptation,  or  the  most  fruitful  of  ail  causes, 
destitution,  are  still  readily  reached.  The  Home  is  pleasantly 
located  Its  long  double  parlor  on  the  first  floor  is  also  the 
chapel,  where  divine  service  is  regularly  conducted  on  Sabbath 
afternoon  and  on  Tuesday  evening  by  a  city  missionary,  where 
a  Bible  class  convenes  twice  each  week,  taught  by  the  female 
managers,  and  where  family  worship  is  daily  conducted  by 
the  superintendent  and  others.  The  windows  of  the  upper 
stories  look  out  upon  the  beautiful  Washington  Square  park, 
with  its  shaded  walks,  crystal  fountain,  and  waving  trees, 
made  vocal  with  the  melody  of  their  feathered  songsters. 

Still  it  is  far  from  being  adequate  to  the  demands  of  the 
undertaking.    It  can  well  accommodate  only  thirty,  beside  the 


THE  HOME  FOR  FRIENDLESS  WOMEN. 


455 


officers,  with  suitable  lodgings  and  work-rooms,  hence  scores 
if  not  hundreds  annually  apply  in  vain,  who  might  be  re- 
formed and  saved  if  suitable  accommodations  could  be  se- 
cured. The  managers  have  felt  the  necessity  of  classifying 
and  grading  the  inmates  according  to  their  moral  status,  of 
introducing  a  system  of  promotions,  and  of  devoting  a  depart- 
ment to  indigent  young  women  in  danger  of  ruin,  who  might 
depart  from  the  Home  without  necessarily  carrying  with  them 
a  diploma  of  degradation.  A  Lying-in  Asylum  is  also  a  nec- 
essary appendage  of  an  institution  of  this  kind,  without  which 
they  are  compelled  to  turn  away  the  class  in  which  the  largest 
number  of  true  penitents  is  found.  This  wise,  systematic 
management  cannot  be  successfully  executed  in  a  small,  ill- 
arranged,  and  crowded  building.  The  managers  have  ap- 
pealed to  the  public  for  §50,000  to  build  or  purchase  a  suit- 
able Institution,  which  we  hope  will  be  soon  forthcoming. 
The  twenty  thousand  or  thirty  thousand  fallen  women  of  the 
city,  whose  numbers  are  steadily  increasing,  should  remind 
us  that  too  few  institutions  for  their  recovery  have  been 
founded,  and  those  few  on  too  small  a  scale.  That  multi- 
tudes of  these  might  be  reformed  has  been  already  proved, 
yet  the  managers  truly  say  that  "  those  saved  during  the  past 
ten  years  by  all  the  institutions  of  New  York  working  for  this 
class  will  not  equal  the  number  mustered  out  by  death  dur- 
ing a  single  year." 

Several  causes  conspire  to  fill  great  centers  of  population 
with  fallen  women.  1.  Many  grow  up  without  the  opportu- 
nities of  refinement,  crowded  together  in  a  miserable  tene- 
ment-house where  six  or  twelve  persons  sleep  in  the  same 
apartment.  The  proprieties  of  life,  if  ever  known,  are  soon 
forgotten.  2.  The  demoralizing  tendencies  of  public  amuse- 
ments, and  the  desire  for  greater  display  than  common  in- 
dustry can  support.  3.  Destitution.  The  methods  by  which 
their  recovery  is  sought  are :  1.  Kindness.  2.  Toil.  3.  Wise 
and  unwearied  religious  effort.  Industry  is  one  of  the  best 
appliances  for  reformation.  At  the  Home,  sewing,  paper-box 
making,  and  other  species  of  toil  are  prosecuted,  and  each 

firl,  to  stimulate  her  energies,  receives  half  her  earnings, 
'he  religious  services  have  been  crowned  with  most  gra- 
cious results.  Under  the  appeals  of  the  man  of  God,  troop- 
ing memories  of  that  land  of  early  innocency  have  come 
rushing  through  the  soul,  and  many  have  broken  down  out- 
right and  wept  convulsively.    Many  have  professed  religion, 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


and  several  after  obtaining  situations  have  united  with  the 
church. 

The  financial  affairs  of  the  society  are  under  the  control 
of  a  board  of  gentlemen  managers,  while  the  internal  and 
domestic  management  is  conducted  by  ladies.  The  Home  is 
maintained  without  any  charge  to  the  inmates,  at  an  expense 
\>i  about  ten  thousand  dollars  per  annum.  It  is  Protestant, 
but  not  denominational. 


WOMEN'S  PRISON  ASSOCIATION  OF  NEW  YORK- 


"THE  ISAAC  T.  HOPPER  HOME." 
{No.  213  Tenth  avenue.) 

This  Institution  was  founded  in  1845,  by  the  distinguished 
gentleman  whose  name  it  bears,  as  the  "  Female  Department 
of  the  New  York  Prison  Association."  It  is  managed  by  a 
board  of  thirty  ladies,  who  are  elected  annually  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  society. 

Mr.  Hopper  belonged  to  the  Society  of  Friends,  was  for 
many  years  inspector  of  prisons  in  Philadelphia,  and  finally 
entered  into  the  work  of  reforming  criminals  with  a  love  and 
zeal  only  less  than  that  of  a  Howard.  He  continued  the 
agent  of  the  society  up  to  the  period  of  his  death,  in  1852, 
performing  an  incredible  amount  of  service  for  the  trifling 
salary  of  $300  per  annum.  Known  to  be  in  moderate  cir- 
cumstances, the  society  repeatedly  proposed  to  increase  his 
salary,  which  he  as  persistently  refused,  though  his  successor's 
was  immediately  fixed  at  $2,500. 


458 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


His  excellent  daughter,  Mrs.  J.  S.  Gibbons,  the  correspond- 
ing secretary  of  the  society,  who  partakes  so  largely  of  the 
spirit  of  her  father,  is  the  only  surviving  member  of  the  orig- 
inal organization 

Mr.  Hopper's  long  familiarity  with  prison  life  led  to  the 
profound  conviction  that  nothing  could  be  done  for  the  refor- 
mation of  female  convicts  without  entirely  separating  them 
from  the  opposite  sex,  and  placing  them  under  the  exclusive 
control  of  suitable  persons  of  their  own  sex.  Hence  the  or- 
ganization of  "  The  Women?  s  Prison  Association." 

The  work  undertaken  by  this  society  is  the  most  difficult 
in  the  world,  requiring  a  mingled  wisdom  and  tenderness, 
connected  with  a  moral  heroism  found  nowhere  but  in  culti- 
vated and  sanctified  woman.  The  objects  of  the  society  are, 
"  the  improvement  of  the  condition  of  prisoners,  whether  de- 
tained on  trial  or  finally  convicted,  and  the  support  and 
encouragement  of  reformed  convicts  after  their  discharge,  by 
affording  them  opportunity  of  obtaining  an  honest  livelihood 
and  sustaining  them  in  their  efforts  to  reform."  It  is  a  death 
grapple  with  sin  in  its  strongest  dominion — the  heart  of  a 
disgraced  and  ruined  woman.  The  sympathy  the  society 
received  from  the  public,  during  the  earlier  years  of  its  his- 
tory, was  not  flattering.  The  habit  of  regarding  and  treating 
the  convict  as  the  irreclaimable  enemy  of  society  was  too 
common  even  with  good  people,  and  a  holy  horror  seemed  to 
fill  the  minds  of  others  that  a  society  to  benefit  such  creatures 
had  been  formed,  as  if  humanity  and  sympathy  for  criminals 
were  an  endorsement  of  crime.  Its  principal  encouragement 
came  from  its  fruits.  Sometimes  the  helpless  victims  of 
wrong  suspicion  and  unjust  commitments  were  found.  Here 
was  an  easy  victory  for  the  right,  accompanied  with  the  in- 
describable joy  of  lifting  up  a  crushed  and  despairing  soul. 
Many  were  found  who  from  childhood  had  been  utterly  per- 
verted by  example  and  instruction,  so  that  all  the  springs  of 
motive  and  action  needed  purifying.  But  having  never  known 
the  path  of  life,  or  felt  the  full  power  of  sacred  truth,  they 
soon  melted  under  the  softening  appliances  of  reclaiming 
mercy. 

Others,  after  years  of  grossest  error  and  shame,  gave  evi- 
dence that  the  moral  sense  was  not  entirely  obliterated,  that 
there  remained  still  a  spring  that  responded  to  the  touch  of 
human  kindness.  In  the  melting  atmosphere  of  Christian 
tenderness,  nourished  by  saintly  example,  and  encouraged  by 


women's  prison  association  OF  NEW  YORK.  459 

the  voice  of  religious  instruction,  in  many  instances  the  lat- 
ent seeds  of  early  culture  have  budded  into  a  life  of  blessed 
fruit  and  promise.  In  some  instances  melancholy  victims  of 
drunkenness,  bloated,  loathsome,  friendless,  and  apparently 
hopeless,  after  spending  a  u  term  "  in  the  cell,  have  returned 
to  this  "  Home "  for  amendment.  The  kind  appeal  has 
brought  the  irrepressible  tear,  the  encouraging  smile,  the 
blush  of  animated  hope;  reproof  and  caution  have  been 
responded  to  with  confession  and  promise  of  amendment. 
The  boisterous  tone  is  subdued  to  mildness,  the  defiant  eye 
quails  before  sympathy  and  interest,  a  tide  of  pent-up  emo- 
tion and  affection  bursts  out  to  gladden  the  deliverer,  who 
feels  it  infinitely  "  more  blessed  to  give  than  receive." 

But  there  have  been  also  many  lamentable  failures.  Some 
ran  well  for  a  time  and  then  relapsed  into  old  habits,  to  pass 
through  the  same  processes  of  arrest,  trial,  and  commitment, 
and  then  to  plead  successfully  again  at  the  <;  Home  "  for  oppor- 
tunity of  amendment.  Some  have  been  so  positive  in  evil 
courses  that  more  restraint  was  necessary  to  preserve  the 
order  of  the  Home  than  the  managers  were  willing  to  exer- 
cise, and  so  have  been  dismissed.  It  is  confidently  believed, 
however,  by  those  longest  connected  with  the  Institution,  that 
over  sixty  per  cent,  of  all  sent  out  from  it  have  done  well. 
Many  have  married  and  now  fill  respectable  stations  in  society, 
sending  frequent  and  grateful  communications,  and  some- 
times donations  of  money,  to  the  Home. 

For  several  years  after  organizing,  the  society  carried  on 
its  operations  in  a  hired  house,  trying  to  raise  the  means  to 
build.  Failing  in  this,  it  finally  purchased  the  house  it  had 
occupied  at  No.  191,  now  No.  213  Tenth  avenue,  for  $8,000, 
paying  down  only  one- fourth  of  the  amount.  The  building 
was  sadly  out  of  repair,  and  about  $8,000  more  have  been 
expended  in  improvements.  It  is  now  a  commodious,  four- 
story  brick,  with  brown-stone  basement,  with  accommodations 
for  fifty  persons.  The  Common  Council  has  made  them  a  few 
small  appropriations,  but  the  society  claims,  and  we  think 
justly,  that  these  have  been  most  meager,  since  their  whole 
labor  and  expenditures  have  been  for  those  who  would  other- 
wise have  been  a  permanent  pest  and  expense  to  the  city. 
There  are  no  special  tests  for  admission.  All  are  received 
on  trial,  and  if  sincere  in  the  matter  of  reformation  receive 
every  encouragement.  If  faithful  and  contented  for  one 
month,  the  society  pledges  to  provide  them  a  situation  and 


460 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


furnish  them  with  comfortable  apparel.  If  refractory  they 
are  dismissed,  but  taken  at  the  next  application,  for  another 
trial.  Scores  are  sent  away  to  service  every  month,  and  as 
many  more  received  from  the  prisons.  Many  remain  con- 
nected with  the  Home,  and  go  out  as  seamstresses  by  the  week 
or  month.  These  spend  their  Sabbaths  at  the  Institution, 
where  their  washing  is  done  for  them,  and  pay  fifty  cents  per 
week  to  the  society,  and  retain  the  residue  of  their  wages. 

Those  in  the  Institution  are  employed  at  sewing  and  laun- 
dry work,  which  always  gives  the  best  satisfaction  to  cus- 
tomers, and  which  the  managers  make  remunerative.  In 
1852,  when  154  were  received,  the  receipts  from  labor  amount- 
ed to  §1,090.  In  1866,  when  286  were  received,  the  receipts 
from  labor  amounted  to  $1,155.47,  and  in  1872,  when  358 
were  admitted,  the  receipts  from  labor  amounted  to  $2,000. 

Since  the  organization  of  the  Home,  in  1845,  the  society 
has  received  5,800  persons,  an  annual  average  of  195,  the 
larger  number  of  whom,  notwithstanding  all  their  discour- 
agements, have  gone  out  to  lead  virtuous  and  useful  lives. 

The  expenditures  of  the  Institution  now  amount  to  from 
six  to  eight  thousand  dollars  per  annum,  and  the  income  is 
about  able  to  balance  them.  Prudent  management  has 
enabled  the  managers  to  cancel  all  their  indebtedness.  In 
1865  the  Home  received  a  legacy  of  $50,000  from  Charles 
Eurrell,  Esq.,  of  Hoboken,  New  Jersey ;  and  during  1869  a 
becpiest  of  $500  was  received  from  Miss  Louise  C.  Parmly 
of  this  city,  daughter  of  Dr.  E.  Parmly,  one  of  the  originators 
of  the  Men's  Prison  Association.  The  interest  only  on  these 
sums  is  used.  The  Institution  is  preeminently  Protestant, 
though  the  largest  number  by  far  who  have  shared  its 
benefits  have  been  Roman  Catholics.  One  evening  in  each 
week  is  devoted  to  a  general  prayer-meeting,  and  two  public 
services  are  conducted  every  Sabbath  by  the  city  missionaries, 
the  pastors  of  the  vicinity,  or  by  theological  students  from 
one  of  the  seminaries.  The  managers,  physicians,  and  clergy- 
men, have  always  served  gratuitously.  An  evening  school 
is  also  conducted  in  the  Institution  by  a  competent  instructor, 
with  very  good  results. 


ROMAN  CATHOLIC  HOME  FOR  THE  AGED  POOR. 


{No.  447  West  Thirty-second  street.) 

JglMQE.  many  years  the  young  have  been  industriously 
sought  out  and  carefully  educated  by  American 
Catholics,  but,  until  recently,  their  aged  poor  of  both 
sexes  have  been  almost  wholly  neglected  in  all 
schemes  of  denominational  charity.  Their  convents,  institu- 
tions of  learning,  and  cathedrals  have  risen  rapidly  in  every 
part  of  the  country,  but  not  an  institution  for  the  infirm  and 
indigent,  who  had  given  all  their  savings  through  life  to  the 
Church,  was  undertaken  until  about  three  years  ago.  About 
that  time  several  members  of  the  community  known  as  the 
"  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor,"  organized  in  France  in  the  year 
1840,  came  to  this  country  and  established  the  first  institution 
of  their  order  in  the  city  of  Brooklyn.  Eleven  have  now 
been  organized  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  and  others 
are  in  contemplation. 

The  Sisters  hold  and  manage  their  institutions,  collecting 
and  begging  the  means  for  their  maintenance  from  door  to 
door.  The  Institution  in  New  York  was  opened  at  No.  443 
West  Thirty-fourth  street,  in  a  hired  building,  on  the  27th  of 
"September,  1870,  and  removed  to  No.  447  West  Thirty-second 
street  on  the  15th  of  the  following  December.  There  are 
twelve  sisters  connected  with  the  enterprise,  four  of  whom 
go  out  almost  constantly  gathering  money  and  supplies  from 
any  and  all  available  sources.  The  superioress,  Mother  Sidonie 
Joseph,  is  one  of  the  group  that  came  from  France  as  before 
stated.  The  Sisters  began  without  a  chair  or  table,  and  with 
no  money,  we  are  told,  but  so  pressing  have  been  their  im- 
portunities that  the  public  has  been  compelled  to  heed  their 
demands,  and  they  now  occupy  three  fine  brick  buildings 
adjoining  each  other,  which  they  have  leased  for  two  and 
one-half  years  for  the  yearly  rental  of  $1,700  each.  Besides 
paying  the  rent  of  over  $400  per  month,  they  have  managed 
to  plainly  furnish  their  buildings,  and  are  now  providing  for 
a  family  of  nearly  one  hundred  aged  and  afflicted  persons. 
Besides  providing  accommodations  for  the  Sisters,  the  build- 
ings contain  space  for  about  one  hundred  and  ten  persons, 
which  will  doubtless  soon  be  filled.    The  Sisters  occupy  the 


462 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


central  building,  No.  447,  the  second  floor  of  which  has  been 
converted  into  a  chapel,  where  mass  is  said  regularly  by  a 
priest.  No.  445  is  devoted  to  the  aged  men,  and  No.  449  to 
the  aged  women.  Persons  of  good  moral  character  in  indi- 
gent circumstances  are  taken  for  life  without  money  or 
goods,  and  without  regard  to  sex  or  nationality.  Several  of 
the  inmates  are  not  active  Roman  Catholics,  though  they  are 
not  Protestants.  We  gladly  chronicle  this  auspicious  begin- 
ning of  denominational  charity  for  the  relief  of  the  aged 
and  destitute  of  this  sect,  so  populous  in  all  our  great  cities, 
and  hope  these  enterprises  may  be  still  more  widely  ex- 
tended. Every  society  should,  if  possible,  provide  for  the 
relief  of  the  unfortunate  and  destitute  of  its  own  faith. 


CHAPIN  HOME  FOR  THE  AGED  AND  INFIRM. 


V^H&p  VERY  denomination  of  Christians  and  Jews  in  New 
fl§6*  York  city  has  found  it  necessary  to  make  provision 
Jw€F  for  the  poor  and  unfortunate  of  its  own  pale,  and  the 
march  of  benevolent  enterprise  in  this  direction  for 
the  last  few  years  has  been  exceedingly  gratifying.  Some- 
thing more  than  four  years  since,  a  society,  composed  prin- 
cipally of  members  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Universalist  church 
(Rev.  E.  H.  Chapin,  pastor),  was  organized,  for  the  purpose 
of  founding  and  maintaining  a  home  for  the  aged  indigent 
of  their  society  and  acquaintance.  The  society  encountered 
such  discouragements  as  usually  attend  enterprises  of  this 
kind.  During  the  year  1870  several  lots  were  purchased  by 
the  managers,  situated  on  Sixty-sixth  and  Sixty-seventh 
streets,  between  Lexington  and  Third  avenues.  A  fair  to 
aid  in  the  accomplishment  of  the  enterprise  was  held  in  the 
armory  of  the  Twenty-second  Regiment,  for  a  number  of  days, 
beginning  April  10th,  1871,  winch  netted  the  society  about 
$10,000.  Subscriptions  have  been  vigorously  circulated,  and 
abouteighty  thousand  have  at  this  writing  been  thus  realized. 
The  Legislature  has  also  recently  favored  the  Institution  with 
a  donation  of  $10,000.    With  these  sums  the  managers  have 


THE  BAPTIST  HOME  FOR  AGED  AND  INFIRM  PERSONS.  463 

erected  a  very  commodious  structure,  which  was  formally 
opened  in  the  spring  of  1873,  and  has  at  present  about  fif- 
teen inmates.    Mrs.  C.  F.  Wallace  is  the  matron. 


THE  BAPTIST  HOME  FOR  AGED  AND  INFIRM  PERSONS. 


,m|pHE  "Ladies'  Home  Society  of  the  Baptist  churches 
of  the  City  of  New  York"  was  duly  organized,  and  in- 
Wj^i  corporated,  March  19, 1869,  with  the  design  of  provid- 
ing aged,  infirm,  and  destitute  members  of  their  de- 
nomination with  a  comfortable  home  in  which  to  spend  the 
last  years  of  life.  The  payment  of  three  dollars  or  more  con- 
stitutes a  person  an  annual  member  of  the  society ;  fifty  dol- 
lars constitutes  a  life  member, and  one  thousand,  a  life  patron. 
The  constitution  provides  that  eighty  female  managers,  mem- 
bers of  Baptist  churches  or  congregations  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  shall  control  the  Institution,  and  shall  hold  their  offices 
three  years  respectively,  one-third  retiring  each  year.  Appli- 
cants as  beneficiaries  must  be  recommended  by  their  pastor, 
and  the  deacons  of  the  church  to  which  they  belong,  as  in 
good  standing,  and  without  the  means  of  support.  An  en- 
trance fee  of  $100  is  required. 

The  first  anniversary  of  the  society  was  held  in  the  Madi- 
son Avenue  Baptist  church,  March  31, 1870,  when  a  vigorous 
and  successful  effort  was  made  to  complete  the  subscription 
of  $100,000,  which  had  been  asked  for  at  the  commencement 
of  the  enterprise,  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  grounds  and 
erecting  buildings.  Noble  responses  were  not  only  made  to 
this  permanent  fund,  but  liberal  subscriptions  also  toward  the 
annual  support  of  the  Home.  Encouraged  by  these  expres- 
sions of  interest,  the  managers  leased  for  two  years  the 
building  No.  41  Grove  street,  at  an  annual  rent  of  $1,800, 
which  they  furnished,  and  on  the  30th  of  June  formally 
opened  with  thirteen  inmates  and  a  temporary  matron.  As 
no  part  of  the  permanent  fund,  or  its  interest,  could  be  ap- 
plied for  current  expenses,  the  ladies  planned  a  fair  which 
was  held  in  the  following  November,  in  Apollo  Hall,  corner 
of  Twenty-eighth  street  and  Broadway,  and  which  netted  the 
society  $10,689. 

29 


464 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


The  Legislature,  during  a  late  session,  passed  an  act  direct- 
ing  the  Commissioners  of  the  Sinking  Fund  of  the  city  of 
New  York  to  lease  to  the  society  ten  lots  of  ground,  situated 
on  Lexington  avenue,  between  Sixty-seventh  and  Sixty-eighth 
streets,  for  the  nominal  rent  of  one  dollar  per  annum.  The  title 
to  this  ground  was  promptly  accepted  by  the  trustees  of  the 
society,  though  the  wisdom  of  the  measure  was  seriously  ques- 
tioned by  many  friends  of  the  enterprise.  Several  public 
meetings,  to  discuss  the  matter,  were  held  by  the  subscribers, 
and  other  members  of  the  denomination,  in  which  strong 
men  were  arrayed  on  either  side,  but  at  the  final  vote  of  the 
members  of  the  Home  Society  a  majority  sanctioned  the  ac- 
tion of  the  trustees.  This  unfortunate  measure  has,  however, 
greatly  disturbed  the  harmony  of  the  society  and  unsettled 
its  plans  of  building,  some  of  the  subscribers  refusing  to  pay 
their  subscriptions.  This  deliberate  and  emphatic  protest 
against  State  and  municipal  endowments  of  denominational  en- 
terprises, entered  into  by  so  many  earnest  and  thoughtful  men, 
is  an  earnest  of  the  sentiment  rapidly  developing  in  all  the 
Protestant  denominations,  and  certain  to,  sooner  or  later,  con- 
trol the  Legislation  of  this  country.  While  we  can  but  regret 
that  this  false  step  has  been  taken  in  the  early  history  of  this 
society,  we  still  wish  it  great  prosperity,  with  many  and  lib- 
eral supporters. 

We  are  gratified  to  state  in  revising  this  chapter,  Septem- 
ber, 1873,  that  the  new  and  beautiful  structure  on  the  above 
mentioned  grounds  is  nearly  completed,  and  will  be  occupied 
as  soon  as  the  street  improvements  are  finished.  In  the 
meantime  the  Home  is  well-conducted  in  Grove-street,  with 
over  twenty  inmates. 


HOME  FOR  AGED  HEBREWS. 

'the  autumn  of  1848,  Mrs.  Henry  Leo,  a  devoted 
JkM^  Jewess  of  New  York,  was  called  to  visit  an  afflicted 
\wk  woman  of  her  own  faith.  She  not  only  found  her  a 
great  sufferer,  but  enshrouded  in  deepest  poverty  and 
destitution.  While  affording  relief  in  this  case,  her  mind  was 
impressed  that  some  general  movement  should  be  inaugurated 
for  the  relief  of  agecl  indigent  Hebrews.    Attending  service 


HOME  FOR  AGED  HEBREWS. 


4t55 


at  the  synagogue  soon  after,  she  laid  the  matter  with  great 
earnestness  before  a  number  of  the  ladies  of  the  congrega- 
tion, and  on  the  21st  of  November,  1848,  the  "  B^nai  Jeshu- 
run  Ladies^  Hebrew  Benevolent  Society"  for  the  relief  of 
indigent  females,  was  formed,  and  rules  foi  its  government 
adopted.  Mrs.  A.  H.  Lissak,  and  Mrs.  David  Samson,  de- 
ceased, were  among  its  presiding  officers,  and  the  Rev.  Ansel 
Leo  acted  for  many  years  as  honorary  secretary.  On  March 
20,  1870,  at  a  meeting  of  the  board  of  directresses  held  in 
the  Thirty-fourth  Street  synagogue,  the  President,  Mrs.  Henry 
Leo,  the  chief  foundress  of  the  society,  presented  a  report 
calling  attention  to  the  number  of  destitute  aged  and  infirm 
Hebrews  in  the  city,  who  were  constantly  making  application 
for  relief  which  the  society  was  unable  to  confer  ;  also  urging 
the  ladies  to  devise  some  practical  measure  which,  when  adop- 
ted, might  furnish  permanent  relief  to  these  distressed  and 
suffering  co-religionists,  without  interfering  with  the  original 
objects  of  the  organization. 

After  a  full  discussion,  it  was  determined  to  call  a  general 
meeting  of  the  society,  which  was  held  on  the  13th  day  of 
March  at  the  B'nai  Jeshurun  synagogue,  a  large  attendance  of 
lady  members  attesting  the  interest  they  felt  in  the  cause  and 
the  subject  which  had  brought  them  together.  The  object  of 
the  meeting  having  been  fully  stated  and  explained  to  them, 
the  following  resolutions  were  offered : 

WJiereas,  It  is  quite  evident  that  we  must  provide  some 
means  to  care  for  the  aged  and  infirm  of  our  persuasion  who 
are  increasing  in  numbers,  and  are  destitute  of  the  common 
necessaries  of  life,  many  without  friends  and  any  visible 
means  of  support ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  it  is  incumbent  upon  us,  bearing  in  mind 
the  sacred  tenets  of  our  holy  faith,  to  care  for  all  such ;  and, 
viewing  also  the  misery  now  endured  by  Hebrew  women, 
unable  to  earn  a  livelihood,  unacquainted  with  any  trade, 
or  when  able  to  sew,  etc.,  refused  work  ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we  hereby  authorize  our  board  of  direc- 
tresses to  provide  for  all  such  destitute  co-religionists ;  open, 
establish,  and  maintain  a  Home  for  Aged  and  Infirm  Hebrews, 
and  adopt  all  rules  and  regulations  for  the  government  of  the 
same ;  also  a  school  of  industry,  where  sewing  and  the  like 
may  be  taught  to  those  unskilled,  and  where  work  obtained 
shall  be  given  out  to  such  poor  women  as  need  it  to  manufac- 
ture, the  profits  arising  from  same,  after  deducting  certain  ex- 


466 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


penses,  to  be  given  to  them  for  their  benefit.  And,  be  it 
also 

Resolved,  That  we  authorize  our  president  and  board  of 
directresses  to  make  expenditures  from  the  treasury  of  our 
society,  and  adopt  any  measure  they  think  proper  for  carry- 
ing out  the  objects  and  purposes  expressed  in  the  foregoing 
resolutions. 

A  quorum  being  present,  the  resolutions  on  motion  were 
unanimously  adopted. 

In  compliance  with  the  foregoing,  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed from  the  board  of  directresses,  who  after  much  trouble 
succeeded  in  obtaining  a  lease  of  the  building  No.  215  West 
Seventeenth  street  for  one  year,  and  on  the  twenty-fourth 
day  of  May,  1870,  the  house  was  declared  formally  opened 
and  dedicated  as  a  Home  for  Aged  and  Infirm  Hebrews,  it 
being  the  first  and  only  Institution  of  the  kind  in  the  State  of 
New  York. 

The  industrial  school  formed  has  given  remunerative  em- 
ployment to  hundreds  of  Hebrew  women,  and  to  some  of  the 
Christian  faith  also.  The  Home  in  Seventeenth  street  is  a 
brick  cottage,  capable  of  accommodating  about  fifteen  per- 
sons. A  building  fund  has  been  established,  and  besides  dis- 
bursing $5,000  during  the  year  in  support  of  the  Home, 
and  on  other  charities,  several  thousand  dollars  have  accumu- 
lated toward  the  purchase  of  permanent  buildings.  The  soci- 
ety is  composed  of  several  hundred  ladies  who  pay  an  annual 
subscription  of  five  dollars  each.  As  the  adherents  of  this 
faith  in  New  York  are  not  lacking  in  wealth,  enterprise,  or 
liberality,  we  presume  it  will  not  be  long  ere  a  large  and 
well-ordered  home  for  the  aged  shall  have  been  provided. 


THE  LADIES  CHRISTIAN  UNION,  OR  YOUNG  WOMEN'S  HOME. 


(Nos.  27  and  28  Washington  square.) 

HE  benevolent  of  New  York  have  been  much  en- 
gaged  during  the  last  fifty  years  providing  asylums 
and  homes  for  orphans,  half-orphans,  the  aged,  blind, 
deaf,  and  for  many  otherwise  afflicted.  The  morally 
fallen  have  received  recently  such  attentions  as  were  hitherto 
unknown.  But  amid  these  multiplied  charities  a  numerous 
and  interesting  class  of  virtuous  persons,  much  in  need  of 
care  and  help,  was  long  overlooked — that  class  of  girls  and 
young  women,  who,  by  the  death  of  parents,  the  reverses  of 
fortune,  the  loss  of  a  situation,  or  of  health,  are  either  thrown 
suddenly  upon  their  own  resources  or  the  uncertain  charities 
of  a  calculating  world.  In  large  cities,  where  fortunes  are 
suddenly  lost,  and  where  most  of  the  casualties  of  society  oc- 
cur, this  class  of  persons  is  always  unpleasantly  large.  In 
November,  1858,  a  number  of  Christian  women,  representing 
several  different  denominations,  convened  for  the  purpose  of 
forming  the  "  Ladies  Christian  Association  of  the  City  of  New 
York,"  their  special  object  being  "  the  temporal,  moral,  and 
religious  welfare  of  women,  particularly  of  young  women 
dependent  upon  their  own  exertions  for  support." 

In  May,  1860,  the  first  "Home"  in  America  for  virtuous 
"  Young  Women"  was  opened  by  this  society  in  a  hired  dwell- 
ing at  No.  21  Amity  place.  Here  it  continued  two  years, 
when  it  was  removed  to  No.  160  East  Fourteenth  street,  where 
three  more  years  were  spent,  when  it  was  removed  to  Nos. 
174  and  176  of  the  same  street. 

The  act  of  incorporation  passed  the  Legislature  April  5, 
1866,  under  the  name  of  "The  Ladies  Christian  Union  of  the 
City  of  New  York."  The  need  of  a  permanent  building, 
larger  and  better  arranged  than  any  hitherto  occupied,  had 
been  long  felt.  The  importance  of  the  undertaking  had  been 
demonstrated  from  the  first;  more  had  thronged  the  doors 
than  could  be  admitted.  During  the  first  four  years  one 
hundred  and  sixty-one  had  been  admitted.  During  the  fifth 
year  seventy-five  persons  were  admitted.  An  earnest  appeal 
for  funds  to  purchase  or  build  a  suitable  edifice,  published  in 
the  report  for  1866,  brought  the  noble  response  of  $1,000 


468 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


from  an  unknown  friend,  with  a  pledge  for  $4,000  more, 
afterwards  increased  to  $9,000  more,  on  condition  that 
$50,000  should  be  procured  within  a  given  time.  The 
amount  was  finally  subscribed,  though  owing  to  some  reverses 
it  has  never  all  been  collected.  On  the  first  of  May,  1868, 
the  Home  was  removed  to  its  present  location,  on  the  north- 
east corner  of  Macdougal  street  and  "Washington  square. 
The  managers  purchased  two  four-story  brick  houses,  with  a 
front  of  fifty-five  and  one-half  feet,  the  lots  being  one  hun- 
dred and  twent}r-five  feet  deep  (containing  brick  stables  in 
the  rear),  for  the  sum  of  $50,000.  The  buildings  front  on 
Washington  Square  park ;  they  are  substantially  built,  with 
high  ceilings,  are  well  arranged  and  ventilated,  and  for  con- 
venience of  access,  purity  of  air,  and  pleasant  surroundings, 
could  scarcely  be  excelled  on  this  portion  of  the  island.  The 
basement  furnishes  a  fine  kitchen  and  laundry,  a  dining,  and 
a  sewing  room.  The  first  floor  contains  two  fine  parlors,  a 
committee  room,  the  apartments  for  the  superintendent,  and 
others  for  transient  boarders.  The  upper  stories  are  devoted  to 
lodging-rooms,  with  baths  on  each  floor.  The  carpeting,  bed- 
ding, and  furniture  all  display  neatness  and  taste ;  the  walls 
are  ornamented  with  pictures  and  various  specimens  of  art 
wrought  by  the  inmates.  The  ladies  contemplate  adding 
another  story,  with  Mausard  roof,  as  soon  as  their  funds  will 
admit  of  it.  A  small  debt  still  remains  on  the  property. 
The  Home  at  this  writing  contains  eighty-seven  inmates,  and 
is  always,  except  in  the  extreme  heat  of  the  season,  full. 

It  is  not  purely  a  charitable  Institution.  Each  inmate  pays 
a  weekly  board  of  from  $3.50  to  $6,  according  to  her  cir- 
cumstances and  the  room  she  occupies.  A  relief  fund  has 
been  established  to  assist  those  who  through  sickness,  loss  of 
employment,  or  other  causes,  find  themselves  unable  to  pay 
their  board.  When  the  buildings  are  owned  and  furnished 
the  income  from  the  boarders  will  about  pay  the  expenses. 
The  girls  are  all  of  an  interesting  class.  Many  of  them  are 
the  daughters  of  clergymen  and  other  distinguished  gentle- 
men. Every  inmate  is  required  to  be  either  engaged  in 
something  useful  or  fitting  for  it.  Of  29  inmates,  in  1865, 
18  were  artists,  one  a  copyist,  three  were  teachers,  eight  dress- 
makers and  seamstresses;  203  different  inmates  were  re- 
ceived during  1869,  of  whom  19  were  artists,  33  teachers,  70 
seamstresses ;  the  remaining  81  were  saleswomen,  book-keep- 
ers, copyists,  etc.    Many  young  ladies  tarry  here  while  com- 


THE  LADIES'  CHRISTIAN  JOTON. 


469 


pletiug  their  education.  Some  teach  in  private  families, 
some  in  the  public-schools,  some  are  pupils  in  the  school  of 
design,  others  work  at  embroidery  or  some  other  species  of 
ingenious  handicraft.  There  are  hours  for  receiving  com- 
pany, when  both  sexes  are  admitted,  but  all  are  required  to 
depart  at  ten  in  the  evening.  The  Home  is  well  supplied 
with  books  and  periodicals.  The  house  committee  holds 
a  meeting  every  Friday  from  twelvemo  one  o'clock,  when 
applications  for  admission  are  received  and  acted  upon. 
Satisfactory  testimonials  of  character  are  required  in  all 
cases,  and  valid  reasons  for  their  remaining  in  the  city. 
Unmarried  women  only  are  received,  preference  being 
given  to  the  younger  class.  The  Institution  being  an 
outgrowth  of  the  great  awakening  of  1857,  and  the  third 
article  of  the  constitution  making  advancement  in  active 
personal  piety  the  first  duty  of  the  members,  it  is  not  surpris- 
ing that  the  religious  element  has  always  been  a  marked  feat- 
ure in  the  movement.  Family  prayer  is  daily  conducted. 
Every  Thursday  evening  a  Bible  class  is  taught  at  the  Home, 
and  on  Wednesday  at  eleven  a.m.  a  ladies'  prayer-meeting  is 
held  at  the  social  parlors,  over  the  chapel  of  the  Broadway 
Tabernacle,  corner  of  Thirty-fourth  street  and  Sixth  avenue. 
Sectarianism  is  ignored,  all  attend  the  churches  of  the  neigh- 
borhood on  the  Sabbath,  and  many  of  the  young  women  teach 
in  the  Sunday  schools.  The  Home  has  been  the  spiritual 
birthplace  of  many  thoughtful  young  ladies,  and  from  its 
well-ordered  circle  some  have  ascended  to  the  "  House  of 
many  mansions  "  on  high. 

The  superintendent,  Mrs.  S.  F.  Marsh,  formerly  the  wife 
of  a  clergyman,  a  lady  of  rare  executive  and  social  qualities, 
with  a  nature  too  kind  to  be  soured  and  too  brave  to  be  dis- 
couraged, has  presided  over  the  Institution  with  very  great 
success  for  the  last  eight  years.  May  she,  with  that  associa- 
tion of  pure  spirits  which  established  this  model  and  pioneer 
Home,  and  who  have  so  long  and  successfully  toiled  to  ele- 
vate the  young  women  of  our  day,  reap  the  richest  fruit  of 
Christian  toil  on  earth,  and  an  imperishable  crown  beyond 
the  grave. 


HOTEL  FOR  WORKING  WOMEK. 


{Fourth  avenue  and  Thirty -third  street.) 

$%J|r  MERICA  presents  greater  attractions  to  the  laboring 
jjSlg  classes  than  almost  any  other  country  in  the  world, 
^fel  Its  abundance  of  cheap,  but  valuable  land,  its  free 
schools,  Republican  government,  and  religious  liberty, 
coupled  with  the  liberal  remuneration  of  toil,  and  the  respect 
of  the  laborer,  rendering  it  of  all  countries  most  desirable  for 
ambitious  industry.  There  is  a  benevolence,  also,  which  finds 
expression  in  the  opening  of  "boarding-houses,"  "homes," 
and  "  hotels,"  for  the  comfort  and  advancement  of  those  who 
toil  singly  and  alone  for  an  honest  subsistence. 

Mr.  Alexander  T.  Stewart,  who  has  hitherto  done  little 
toward  placing  his  name  among  the  benevolent  of  the  metrop- 
olis, has  recently,  we  are  told,  set  aside  six  millions  of  dollars 
for  the  erection  of  two  immense  structures,  one  for  working- 
women,  and  the  other  for  working-men.  The  structure  for 
working-women,  which  is  now  nearly  completed,  stands  on 
Fourth  avenue  between  Thirty-second  and  Thirty-third  streets. 
The  building,  which  is  of  iron,  and  fire-proof,  has  three  fronts; 
that  on  Fourth  avenue  being  one  hundred  and  ninety-two  feet 
six  inches,  those  on  Thirty-second  and  Thirty-third  streets,  two 
hundred  and  five  feet  respectively.  The  area  covered  by  the 
structure  is  forty-one  thousand  square  feet.  The  main  build- 
ing will  be  six  stories  high,  with  an  additional  story,  in  Mansard 
roof,  and  over  the  central  portions  of  each  front,  a  space  of  one 
hundred  feet,  there  will  be  an  additional  story  with  a  super- 
imposed Mansard  roof,  making  the  centre  of  each  front  eight 
stories.  At  the  extremities  of  these  central  elevations,  and 
also  at  the  street  angles,  are  turreted  towers,  twenty-four  feet 
in  width  and  height.  The  entire  central  height  will  be  one 
hundred  and  nine  feet. 

The  grand  entrance  on  Fourth  avenue  has  a  width  of  forty- 
eight  feet ;  the  portico  is  two  stories  high,  with  massive  clus- 
ter iron  columns,  resting  on  octagonal-shaped  pedestals,  and 
supporting  foliated  capitals.  The  design  of  the  structure, 
with  its  different  stories,  their  piers,  columns,  pilasters,  and 
arches,  crowned  with  the  unique  towers,  presents  a  finished 


THE  WATER-  STREET  HOME  FOR  WOMEN. 


471 


architectural  design.  The  first  story  contains  twenty-four 
fine  stores,  each  fifty-two  feet  wide  and  seventy  feet  deep. 
A  wide  stairway  conducts  to  the  interior.  A  portion  of  the 
halls  are  covered  with  marble.  A  steam  elevator,  running  to 
the  upper  floor,  ascends  on  either  side  of  the  staircase.  The 
stories  are  high,  averaging  from  nineteen  feet  six  inches  to 
eleven  feet  five  inches.  There  is  a  large  interior  court-yard, 
ninety-four  feet  by  one  hundred  and  sixteen,  which  is  to  be 
ornamented  with  fountain,  gold  fish,  etc.  The  whole  struc- 
ture is  heated  by  steam  coil,  the  engine  being  so  arranged  as 
to  work  the  elevators,  drive  in  hot  weather  an  immense  fan 
for  cooling  the  apartments,  and  afford  mechanical  appliances 
to  the  kitchen  and  the  laundry.  The  dining-room  is  thirty 
by  ninety-two  feet,  and  another  room  of  the  same  size  is  to  be 
used  for  concerts,  lectures,  etc.,  and  still  another  of  similar 
dimensions  will  contain  the  library,  and  be  the  reading-room. 
The  inmates  are  to  pay  a  fixed  price  for  the  use  of  rooms  ac- 
cording to  their  size  and  location,  and  the  board  will  be  con- 
ducted on  the  restaurant  plan.  If  the  proprietor  really  deals 
as  liberally  with  the  inmates  as  some  now  suppose,  this  Insti- 
tution, situated  in  an  eligible  portion  of  the  city,  will  be  a 
valuable  acquisition  to  the  toiling  women  of  Manhattan. 


THE  WATER  STREET  HOME  FOR  WO]MffiN. 

(No.  273  Water  street.) 

fc^j^y  UKENG  the  summer  of  1868  the  reading  public  was 
^IvfS  startled  with  a  series  of  well- written  articles  published 
J^E^a  in  Packard's  Monthly,  and  partially  reprinted  and 
commented  upon  by  most  of  the  papers,  purporting 
to  set  forth  the  career  of  the  "  Wickedest  Man  in  New  York." 
The  attention  of  the  city  was  thus  called  to  the  condition  of 
society  in  Water  street  and  its  vicinity,  and  so  profound  was 
the  conviction,  in  many  thoughtful  and  pious  minds,  that 
something  should  be  undertaken  for  this  sin-blighted  locality, 
that  it  resulted  in  a  noon-day  prayer-meeting,  established  in 
the  dance-house  of  John  Allen,  and  conducted  with  much 
fervor  for  a  considerable  period.    Though  the  effort  did  not 


472 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


result  in  the  conversion  of  a  large  number  from  the  neighbor- 
hood, it  considerably  sobered  many,  and  had  an  excellent 
effect  upon  Christians  of  all  denominations  who  took  part  in 
the  undertaking. 

Water  street  contains  a  few  wholesale  business  houses,  con- 
ducted through  the  day  by  amiable  gentlemen  residing  in  other 
places,  but  the  resident  population  of  the  locality  is  perhaps 
the  most  depraved  and  infamous  on  the  entire  New  York 
island.  Murder  and  robbery  have  never  been  as  frequent 
here  as  during  the  worst  days  of  the  Five  Points,  but  for  low 
groggeries,  scandalous  brothels,  and  dance-houses,  where 
every  sentiment  of  decency  is  ignored,  and  the  whole  popu- 
lace reduced  to  the  lowest  scum  of  moral  degradation,  the 
locality  has  long  been  unrivaled.  Sailors  and  roughs  of  the 
lowest  order,  whose  means  will  not  admit  them  to  houses 
equally  disreputable  but  higher  up  on  the  ladder,  here  assem- 
ble nightly  to  waste  their  money  and  lives  in  drink  and  fran- 
tic revelrjr.  The  dance-house  girls,  also,  are  the  most  ignorant 
and  helpless  of  their  class.  Many  of  them,  reared  in  the 
neighborhood,  have  little  knowledge  of  anything  better, 
and  little  compunction  for  a  life  of  crime.  Some  of  them 
have  never  seen  the  better  parts  of  the  city,  attended  school 
or  church,  or  been  in  any  manner  reached  by  the  ministra- 
tions of  religion. 

They  are  the  slaves  of  the  proprietor  in  whose  miserable 
shanty  they  dwell.  He  claims  as  his  property  the  miserable 
garments  they  wear,  so  that,  when  one  attempts  to  escape  from 
brutal  treatment,  she  is  not  unfrequently  arrested  for  theft, 
and  thrown  into  prison. 

It  was  in  this  slum  of  moral  putrefaction,  after  the  excite- 
ment of  the  noon-day  meeting  had  subsided,  and  religious 
efforts  in  the  locality  had  been  mainly  suspended,  that  the 
Rev.  William  II.  Boole,  a  member  of  the  New  York  East 
Conference,  and  pastor  of  one  of  the  city  churches,  under 
the  inspiration  of  "  a  profound  and  responsible  conviction,', 
opened  this  Home  and  refuge  for  fallen  women.  The  founder 
believed  that  greater  good  would  result  from  an  institution 
founded  in  the  midst  of  this  sea  of  social  crime  than  from 
one  removed  from  the  locality,  because  of  the  ready  access 
afforded  those  for  whose  benefit  it  was  opened,  and  the 
reformatory  influence  it  would  exert  in  the  neighborhood. 
Like  the  ladies  at  the  Five  Points,  he  was  enabled  to  seize 
upon  one  of  the  chief  citadels  of  corruption  in  the  locality. 


THE  "WATER-STREET  HOME  FOR  WOMEN. 


473 


The  "  Kit  Burns  Dog-Pit,"  rum,  carousal,  and  brothel  shop, 
had  obtained  a  world-wide  notoriety,  the  proprietor  gathering 
lucre  from  the  most  brutal  and  corrupting  expedients  ever 
tolerated  in  a  civilized  town.  The  proprietor  of  this  estab- 
lishment, with  no  sympathy  in  the  object  of  the  mission,  was 
strangely  moved  to  oner  his  building  for  the  moderate  rent 
of  one  thousand  dollars  per  annum,  obligating  himself  to  con- 
tinue the  lease  for  six  years.  The  lease  was  at  once  taken, 
and  the  work  of  cleansing  and  remodeling  the  premises  un- 
dertaken. The  building  is  a  four-story  brick,  twenty-five  by 
thirty-four  feet,  with  a  rear  extension  which  originally  con- 
tained the  "  pit,"  but  which  has  since  been  changed  into  a 
kitchen  and  several  bath-rooms.  On  February  8,  1870,  in 
presence  of  a  vast  concourse  of  people  that  crowded  the 
building,  the  "pit,"  and  the  adjoining  street,  the  Insti- 
tution was  solemnly  dedicated  by  the  Rev.  Bishop  Janes,  the 
Revs.  S.  H.  Tyng,  G.  W.  Woodruff,  S.  W.  King,  and  W. 
McAllister  taking  part  in  the  exercises.  The  addresses  con- 
tained many  pungent  utterances,  and  produced  a  profound 
impression.  The  Home  was  not  formally  opened  for  the 
reception  of  inmates  until  the  10th  of  March,  1870,  and  in  a 
short  time  the  applications  for  admission  were  so  numerous 
that  many  were  turned  away  for  want  of  room  to  accommo- 
date them. 

In  projecting  the  Institution,  it  was  believed  that  some  dif- 
ficulty would  be  experienced  in  drawing  these  abandoned 
creatures  into  it,  and  it  was  proposed  to  hold  evening  meet- 
ings in  the  hall  set  apart  for  public  worship,  to  which  it  was 
hoped  they  might  be  attracted,  and  so  impressed  with  truth 
as  to  be  led  to  seek  refuge  and  aid  in  this  Christian  Home. 
But  as  more  than  could  be  admitted  have  from  time  to  time 
presented  themselves,  without  solicitation,  no  plans  for  reach- 
ing them  have  been  necessary. 

The  internal  management  of  the  Home  is  under  the  direc- 
tion of  two  resident  matrons  and  a  missionary,  who  are  con- 
stantly employed  in  self-sacrificing  labors  of  love,  and  who  are 
heartily  identified  with  the  movement,  receiving  no  stated 
salary,  but  trusting  entirely  to  the  unsolicited  contributions  of 
the  friends  of  the  cause  for  their  supplies.  The  matrons  have 
charge  of  the  domestic  department,  direct  the  girls  in  their 
household  duties,  and  conduct  the  religious  meetings  when 
held  exclusively  with  the  inmates  of  the  Institution,  in  which 
they  are  assisted  by  Christian  ladies  from  the  city.  The  mis- 


474 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


sionary,  Mr.  Fred.  Bell,  has  charge  of  the  Sabbath  preach- 
ing, the  daily  and  evening  prayer-meetings  held  in  the  hall, 
and  acts  in  concert  with  the  matrons  in  the  general  admin  is- 
tion  of  the  Home.  The  duties  of  the  day  begin  and  end  with 
prayer,  in  which  all  join. 

A  general  prayer-meeting  is  held  on  Tuesday  evening,  and 
another  on  Thursday  evening,  of  each  week,  when  the  mis- 
sionary is  assisted  by  Christian  brethren  from  the  up-town 
churches.  These  services  are  designed  to  reach  the  vile  young 
men  of  the  neighborhood,  and  have  in  some  instances  been 
crowned  with  marvelous  results.  Men  so  dissipated  and  reck- 
less as  to  have  been  wholly  abandoned  by  their  friends,  and 
given  over  as  quite  incorrigible,  have  drifted  into  these  ser- 
vices, where  they  have  been  awakened  and  converted,  after 
which  they  have  returned  to  their  homes  and  pursued  honest 
careers.  A  young  Englishman  of  liberal  education,  and  who 
had  been  a  journalist,  but  by  dissipation  and  other  vices  had 
sunk  himself  to  the  depths  of  despair,  resolved  to  commit  sui- 
cide. He  filled  his  pockets  with  brick,  and  stood  on  the  pier 
for  the  fatal  plunge.  By  some  influence  the  dreadful  act  was 
delayed,  he  went  to  the  Water-street  prayer-meeting,  was  re- 
claimed by  Divine  grace,  and  has  stood  firm  for  months  in  a 
pious  and  useful  career.    Other  examples  might  be  given. 

The  only  condition  of  admission  to  the  Home  is  a  desire  to 
reform,  though  they  may  not  know  by  what  process  the  refor- 
mation is  to  be  effected.  The  managers  believe  that  nothing 
short  of  Divine  grace  can  reform  a  fallen  woman ;  hence  they 
desire  to  retain  each  inmate  until  she  has  been  genuinely 
converted  to  God,  and  thus  rendered  sufficiently  strong  to 
lead  a  virtuous  life  on  her  return  to  the  outside  world.  A 
genuine  change  of  heart  is  the  first,  last,  and  great  thing 
sought  by  the  managers  in  the  reception  of  an  inmate.  In 
the  meantime  work  from  the  stores  is  taken,  each  inmate  re- 
ceiving one-half  of  her  earnings.  The  labor  thus  far,  how- 
ever, has  not  been  very  productive.  During  the  first  five 
months  after  the  opening  of  the  Home,  about  one  hundred 
inmates  were  admitted,  some  of  whom  were  pronounced  the 
"  most  desperate  characters  of  the  street."  But  few  of  them 
returned  to  their  old  ways,  many  became  industrious,  tidy, 
and  serious,  and  about  ten'per  cent.,  it  was  thought,  gave  evi- 
dence of  a  changed  heart.  But  with  the  more  perfect  or- 
ganization of  the  Institution  has  been  given  also  a  larger 
measure  of  spiritual  influence,  and  we  learn  that  more  than 


THE  WATER-STREET  HOME  FOR  WOMEN. 


475 


fifty  per  cent,  of  all  admitted  during  the  last  six  months  have 
deliberately  entered  upon  a  genuine  Christian  career.  The 
labors  of  Christian  ladies,  who  assemble  several  times  each 
week  to  mingle  prayers  and  exhortations  with  the  inmates  in 
their  upper  rooms,  have  not  failed  of  gratifying  results,  and 
are  more  effective  than  services  conducted  by  persons  of  the 
opposite  sex. 

Meetings  for  song,  conversation,  and  social  intercourse  are 
also  held  occasionally  in  the  parlor  under  the  direction  of  the 
resident  officers.  Friends  from  the  neighborhood  and  others 
are  sometimes  invited  to  attend.  These  gatherings  are  charac- 
terized by  all  the  freedom  of  a  well-ordered  family,  and  at 
some  of  them  conversions  have  occurred.  More  than  once  since 
its  opening,  that  devoted  Christian  vocalist,  Philip  Phillips,  has 
volunteered  to  sing  his  choicest  songs  to  the  inmates  of  the 
Home  and  the  assembled  populace  of  that  demoralized  neigh- 
borhood. On  one  occasion,  a  careful  distribution  of  handbills 
and  complimentary  tickets  through  the  dance-houses  and 
liquor  saloons  of  the  locality  brought  together  an  immense 
crowd  of  both  sexes,  even  filling  the  platform,  on  which  Mr. 
Phillips  sat,  with  abandoned  women.  An  eye-witness  said, 
"  It  was  indeed  a  novel  entertainment  for  those  ears,  always 
filled  with  blasphemy  and  foul  speech,  to  hear  '  Singing  for 
Jesus,'  from  the  silvery  lips  of  our  sweet  singer  in  Israel. 
_  "At  times  the  deep  silence  was  almost  painful ;  and  when 
Mr.  Phillips  sung  the  '  Dying  Child/  there  was  scarcely  a 
dry  eye  among  those  so  little  accustomed  to  weep.  The  songs 
were  interspersed  with  those  short,  sweet  exhortations  which 
Mr.  Phillips  so  effectively  uses  to  promote  the  deeply  spirit- 
ual character  of  his  singing,  and  on  this  occasion  were  more 
than  usually  blessed  in  their  appropriateness  and  effect. 
When,  near  the  close,  he  asked  how  many  would  join  in  the 
request  for  prayer  and  try  to  live  a  better  life,  more  than 
forty  hands  went  up,  and  several  of  the  women  near  him  said 
aloud, < 1  will,  Mr.  Phillips  ;  I  will  try.' " 

The  founder  of  the  Water  Street  Home  for  Women  is  not 
wealthy,  and  at  the  beginning  invested  the  few  hundred  dol- 
lars he  possessed  to  obtain  the  lease  and  pay  the  rent  for  a 
part  of  the  first  year.  It  required  a  large  faith  in  the  infinite 
Provider  to  launch  an  enterprise  of  this  character  in  this 
locality,  against  the  judgment  of  so  many  excellent  people; 
yet,  believing  himself  Divinely  directed,  he  set  about  the 
work  without  fear.    The  Home  is  carried  on  exclusively 


NEW  TOEK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


as  a  isorh  of  faith,  no  solicitation  in  any  form  being  made 
for  funds,  except  prayer  and  reliance  upon  God.  In  the  right 
time  means  came  to  defray  the  expense  of  repairing,  furniture 
was  contributed,  and  bread  given.  The  rule  is  not  to  incur 
debt.  More  than  once  "  the  last  loaf  has  been  eaten"  at  supper, 
with  no  knowledge  of  what  should  be  on  the  morrow,  but  He 
that  feeds  the  ravens  has  through  His  servants  sent  a  timely 
supply.  May  the  Home  never  lack  encouragement !  We  re- 
joice in  the  auspicious  opening  of  another  refuge  for  the 
most  despised  and  helpless  class  in  this  sin-darkened  world. 
Truly  there  is  something  appalling  in  the  case  of  a  fallen 
woman.  A  man  may  descend  to  deepest  prodigality,  waste 
his  substance  and  become  a  companion  of  harlots,  yet  his  re- 
turn is  hailed  with  highest  joy.  But  a  fallen  woman  is  pro- 
nounced lost,  and  given  over  as  incorrigible.  Her  reformation, 
if  not  openly  ridiculed,  is  long  viewed  with  distrust,  even  by 
the  excellent  of  her  own  sex.  This  movement  in  Water  street 
has  already  resulted  in  the  discontinuance  of  eight  or  ten 
brothels  in  the  vicinity,  and  the  policemen  patrolling  the  lo- 
cality pronounce  it  much  improved. 


THE  FIYE-POINTS  MISSION. 


(No.  61  Park  street) 

A  quarter  of  a  century  ago  the  Five  Points  in  Xew  York 
presented  the  most  appalling  state  of  society  on  the  American 
continent.  The  locality  was  a  low  valley  between  Broadway 
and  Bowery,  originally  covered  by  the  Collect  pond,  and  the 
name  was  acquired  by  the  converging  of  three  streets  instead 
of  two,  one  of  the  blocks  terminating  in  a  sharp  point.  The 
ground,  being  marshy  and  uninviting,  was  settled  by  the  poor 
and  dissolute,  mostly  from  foreign  countries,  who  by  degrees 
became  so  notoriously  disorderly,  that  it  was  not  considered 
safe  for  a  respectable  person  to  pass  through  it  without  a 
police  escort ;  and  these  officers  were  often  maltreated  and 
murdered  N  About  fifty  thousand  persons  inhabited  this  local- 
ity, without  a  Protestant  church,  or  a  school,  bidding  utter 
defiance  to  all  law  and  decency.  There  were  underground 
passage-ways  connecting  blocks  of  houses  on  different  streets, 
making  crime  easy  and  detection  difficult.    Every  house  was 


473 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


a  filthy  brothel,  the  resort  of  persons  of  every  sex,  age,  color, 
and  nationality.  Every  store  was  a  dram-shop,  where  from 
morning  to  morning  thieves  and  abandoned  characters  whetted 
their  depraved  tastes,  concocted  and  perpetrated  crimes  and 
villainies,  rendering  day  and  night  hideous  with  their  incessant 
revelries. 

The  respectable  inhabitants  living  within  five  minutes'  walk 
of  this  appalling  carnival  were  astonishingly  indifferent  to 
the  fearful  degradation  which  there  existed,  many  believing 
that  the  majority  among  them  preferred  to  riot  in  wretched 
vices,  to  starve  upon  the  scanty  wages  of  crime,  to  be  housed 
in  kennels,  poor-houses,  or  jails,  racked  with  loathsome  disease, 
and  scourged  by  the  law,  rather  than  dwell  in  quiet  respect- 
ability by  their  own  careful  industry. 

To  the  ladies  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  must  ever 
be  accorded  the  high  honor  of  inaugurating  measures  for 
carrying  light  into  this  God-forsaken  valley  of  moral  blackness. 
As  early  as  lS-iS  the  Ladies'  Home  Missionary  Society  of  this 
denomination,  having  previously  established  several  missions 
in  different  parts  of  the  city,  which  have  since  grown  into  large, 
flourishing  churches,  turned  its  attention  toward  this  long- 
despised  center  of  abandoned  humanity.  Impressed  with 
the  magnitude  and  difficulties  of  their  undertaking,  the  so- 
ciety selected  a  number  of  Christian  gentlemen  of  high  stand- 
ing, who  were  constituted  an  advisory  committee,  upon  whom 
it  has  always  safely  relied  for  counsel  and  means.  In  the 
spring  of  1850,  Rev.  L.  M.  Pease,  of  the  New  York  Conference, 
was  appointed  to  this  unpromising  field.  A  room,  twenty  by 
forty  feet,  at  the  corner  of  Little  "Water  and  Cross  streets,  was 
hired,  fitted  for  holding  service,  and  on  the  first  Sabbath 
filled  with  the  most  motley,  filthy,  and  reckless  group  that  ever 
crowded  a  religious  service.  A  lady  described  it  as  "  a  more 
vivid  description  of  hell  than  she  had  ever  imagined."  The 
Sunday  school  began  with  seventy  unruly  scholars.  For  a 
time  confusion  reigned.  The  boys  would  turn  somersaults, 
knock  each  other  down,  and  follow  any  other  vicious  inclina- 
tion. Order  and  system  were  gradually  introduced,  and  in 
time  this  school  became  as  orderly  as  any  in  the  city. 

Intemperance  was  the  universal  crime  and  curse  of  the  lo- 
cality, and  it  soon  became  evident  that  nothing  could  be  ac- 
complished unless  this  fiery  tide  could  be  arrested.  A  series 
of  temperance  meetings  were  commenced  (which  have  been 
continued  more  or  less  ever  since),  and  over  a  thousand  signed 


THE  FIVE-POINTS  MISSION. 


479 


the  pledge  the  first  year.  The  next  chief  difficulty  in  the 
way  of  success  was  the  universal  poverty  of  the  population. 
Reformation  with  many  involved  immediate  starvation,  unless 
some  new  channel  of  industry  could  be  opened.  The  hunger 
of  a  starving  family  must  be  somewhat  appeased  with  bread 
before  their  minds  can  be  interested  in  the  Gospel.  Mr. 


! 


THIS  FXVK-POI>*TS  MISSION. 


Pease,  with  characteristic  energy,  soon  arranged  to  supply  a 
hundred  with  needle-work,  becoming  personally  responsible 
to  the  manufactories,  suffering  constant  pecuniary  loss  on  ac- 
count of  the  poorness  of  the  work.  This  industrial  depart- 
ment required  his  constant  attention  to  prevent  thefts  and 
losses ;  drew  him  in  part  away  from  the  pastoral  and  outside 
spiritual  toil  contemplated  by  the  managers,  which,  with 
some  unfortunate  business  complications,  resulted  at  length  in 
the  severance  of  his  connection  with  the  Ladies'  Missionary 

30 


480 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


society.  Mr.  Pease  gave  evidence  of  the  deepest  devotion  to 
his  work,  and  surprised  all  his  friends  by  early  making  hie 
residence  and  removing  his  family  into  the  center  of  this 
abandoned  neighborhood,  that  the  whole  weight  of  his  in- 
fluence and  toil  might  be  thrown  into  the  movement. 

The  next  year  Rev.  J.  Luckey  was  appointed  to  this  field. 
The  accommodations  of  the  Mission  were  totally  inadequate, 
and  measures  were  set  on  foot  to  secure  permanent  buildings. 
Mr.  Harding  generously  offered  the  society  the  use  of  the 
Metropolitan  Hall  for  a  public  meeting,  the  Ilutchinsons  and 
Alleghanians  volunteered  to  sing  gratuitously,  and  Revs. 
Beecher  and  Wakeley  to  speak  on  the  occasion.  The  hall 
was  crowded,  and  $4,000  secured  for  the  Mission.  The  next 
year  the  hall  was  again  tendered,  and  John  B.  Gough  lectured 
to  a  delighted  audience,  which  subscribed  $5,000  toward  the 
Mission.  In  1852,  after  mature  deliberation,  the  society  pur- 
chased the  Old  Brewery,  a  name  it  bore  from  the  business 
once  carried  on  in  it,  for  the  sum  of  $10,000.  The  large 
building  was  at  this  time  in  great  decay,  but  inhabited  by 
hundreds  of  the  most  desperate  characters  in  the  city,  and 
was  the  acknowledged  headquarters  of  crime  in  this  fearful 
locality.  There  were  dark,  winding  passage-ways  extending 
through  the  whole  edifice,  various  hiding  places  for  criminals, 
and  dark,  damp  rooms,  where  scores  of  wretched  families 
herded  promiscuously  together.  The  avenue  extending  around 
the  outside  of  the  building  was  familiarly  known  as  "  Mur- 
derers Alley  "  and  "  The  Den  of  Thieves."  To  demolish  this 
literal  pandemonium  and  erect  in  its  place  a  temple  of  mercy 
to  humanity,  and  of  worship  to  God,  was  one  of  the  noblest 
triumphs  of  Christianity.  Inspection  proved  the  building  in- 
capable of  repair ;  it  was  pulled  down,  and  on  the  27 th  of  Jan- 
uary, 1853,  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  building  was  laid  by 
Bishop  Janes,  of  New  York,  several  distinguished  clergymen, 
representing  different  denominations,  taking  part  in  the  exer- 
cises. On  the  sixteenth  day  of  the  following  June  it  was 
solemnly  dedicated  to  the  service  of  education  and  religion ; 
and  the  managers  and  missionaries,  with  feelings  too  deep  for 
expression,  found  themselves  in  possession  of  a  brick  building, 
seventy-five  by  forty-five  feet,  and  five  stories  high,  containing, 
besides  a  neat  parsonage,  chapel,  and  school-rooms,  two  stories, 
extending  over  the  entire  building,  to  let  at  reasonable  rates 
to  suitable  families.  The  schools,  which  had  been  conducted 
in  a  temporary  wooden  building  in  the  park,  were  transferred 


THE  FIVE-POINTS  MISSION. 


481 


to  their  commodious  rooms,  the  parsonage  was  furnished  by 
members  of  the  different  Methodist  churches,  and  everything 
assumed  an  aspect  of  thrift  and  progress. 

The  day  school  has  been  successfully  conducted  by  compe- 
tent instructors  through  these  twenty-four  years,  averaging 
from  four  hundred  to  five  hundred  scholars  daily,  affording 
the  means  of  culture  to  many  thousands  who  must  otherwise 
have  groped  in  profoundest  ignorance.  The  usual  per  capita 
appropriation  from  the  State  educational  fund  is  made  to  the 
Institution. 

The  Sunday  school  is  also  large.  A  visitor  is  constantly 
employed  by  the  society  to  canvass  the  neighborhood  and  look 
after  absentees.  The  children  receive  a  lunch  each  day, 
which  amounts  to  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  ra- 
tions per  annum  given  to  the  hungry.  The  scholars  are  all 
clothed  by  the  society,  and  many  garments  and  bed-quilts, 
besides  articles  of  food  and  fuel,  are  furnished  to  their  indi- 
gent parents.  A  large  congregation  assembles  morning  and 
evening  on  the  Sabbath  to  listen  to  preaching  by  the  mission- 
ary ;  a  weekly  prayer-meeting  and  a  class-meeting  are  also  well 
sustained.  A  "  Free  Library  and  Reading-room  has  recently 
been  opened.  The  number  of  converts  remaining  at  the 
Mission  is  never  large,  as  reformation  is  usually  followed  by 
improved  business  opportunities,  when  they  unite  with  the 
_regular  churches  in  the  city  or  elsewhere.  Through  the  liber- 
ality of  a  friend  who  bequeathed  the  society  §22,000,  the 
Board  has  recently  made  a  fine  addition  to  the  building, 
greatly  improving  the  facilities  of  usefulness.  The  property 
of  the  society  is  now  valued  at  about  $100,000.  The  society 
has  for  the  last  twelve  years  issued  a  small  monthly  paper, 
entitled  "A  Yoice  from  the  Old  Brewery,"  which,  besides 
acknowledging  all  receipts  of  money  and  goods,  contains 
many  spicy  articles  of  general  interest.  It  has  a  steady  cir- 
culation of  4,000.  The  society  was  duly  incorporated  in 
March,  1856.  Over  two  thousand  destitute  children  have  been 
place  in  Christian  homes,  most  of  whom  have  risen  to  re- 
spectability and  usefulness,  and  quite  a  number  to  wealth  and 
distinction.  Situations  have  also  been  furnished  to  many 
thousand  adults.  The  work  of  the  society  is  conducted  at  a 
cash  expense  of  over  $20,000  per  annum,  not  mentioning  the 
thousands  of  dollars'  worth  of  clothing,  produce,  etc.,  re- 
ceived and  distributed  from  churches  and  friends  all  over 
the  land. 


4S2 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


During  the  twenty- three  years  of  its  operations,  six  different 
ministers  have  been  successively  employed  by  the  society  as 
resident  missionaries  or  superintendents,  a  traveling  financial 
agent  having  been  also  employed  during  most  of  the  time. 
The  present  superintendent,  Be  v.  J.  N.  Shaffer,  a  man  of 
great  prudence  and  perseverance,  has  now  entered  upon  his 
twelfth  year  of  successful  and  unceasing  toil  in  this  critical 
field.  Great  credit  is  due  the  Ladies'  Home  Missionary  Society 
for  the  marvelous  change  wrought  in  this  locality  during 
the  last  two  decades,  for  though  other  vigorous  organizations 
are  now  in  the  field,  it  must  ever  be  remembered  that  this 
society  wrought  out  the  plan,  furnished  the  stimulus,  and 
trained  the  chief  founders  of  those  kindred  Institution*  in  it* 
own  chosen  field. 


FIVE-POINTS  HOUSE  OF  INDUSTRY. 


(M.  155  Worth  street.) 

The  Five-Points  House  of  Industry  originated  in  an  indi- 
vidual effort  made  by  Rev.  Lewis  Morris  Pease,  in  the  summer 
of  1850,  to  obtain  employment  for  a  class  of  wretched  females, 
who,  with  strong  desire  to  escape  from  an  abandoned  life, 
were  debarred  from  any  other,  through  lack  of  employment. 
Mr.  Pease  was  at  first  employed  by  the  Ladies'  Home  Mission- 
ary Society  of  the  M.  E.  Church  at  the  Five  Points,  but,  differ- 
ing in  his  views  from  those  of  the  society  as  to  the  methods 
to  be  employed,  and  some  unfortunate  complications  occur- 
ring, an  alienation  was  produced  which  resulted  in  the  sever- 
ance of  his  connection  with  the  society,  and  the  establishment 
of  an  independent  enterprise.  In  the  autumn  of  the  same 
year  he  hired  two  houses,  admitted  fifty  or  sixty  inmates 
whom  he  supplied  with  work;  in  February  an  additional 


484 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


room  was  added ;  and  in  May,  1851,  four  houses  were  taken, 
and  the  number  of  inmates  increased  to  one  hundred  and 
twenty.  In  1853  eight  houses  were  taken,  and  five  hundred 
persons  supported  either  by  their  industry  or  the  donations  of 
the  benevolent.  Needle-work,  basket-making,  baking,  straw- 
work,  shoemaking,  and  ultimately  farming,  formed  the  chief 
employments. 

Mr.  Pease  began  the  enterprise  with  great  courage,  but 
with  scanty  means,  and  must  have  soon  failed  if  Providence 
had  not  raised  up  friends  who  early  came  to  his  assistance. 
After  conducting  the  enterprise  over  three  years,  he  succeeded 
in  enlisting  a  number  of  gentlemen,  who  procured  a  charter 
and  assumed  the  management  of  the  Institution,  Mr.  Pease 
remaining  the  superintendent.  The  entire  expenditures  of 
the  enterprise  during  the  three  years  and  a  quarter,  closing 
with  the  incorporation  of  the  society  in  March,  1854, 
amounted  to  $48,981.87,  more  than  half  of  which  was  profit 
on  the  work  of  the  inmates,  the  remainder  being  made  up  by 
donations. 

Soon  after  the  incorporation  of  the  society,  the  trustees 
resolved  to  relinquish  the  rented  buildings  and  erect  perman- 
ent ones  of  their  own.  A  plot  of  ground  on  what  is  now 
Worth  street  was  purchased,  and  in  1856  they  completed  a 
massive  six-story  brick  edifice,  with  a  front  of  fifty-four  feet, 
covering  nearly  the  entire  depth  of  the  lots,  and  seventy  feet 
high.  Much  of  the  means  necessary  to  complete  the  edifice 
was  contributed  by  friends,  and  the  remaining  incumbrance 
on  the  property  was  removed  several  years  later  by  a  bequest 
of  $20,000,  received  from  Mr.  Sickles.  In  1864,  Chauncey 
Rose,  Esq.,  whose  generosity  extended  to  so  many  institutions, 
presented  the  board  with  the  handsome  sum  of  $10,000, 
which  led  to  the  purchase  of  several  adjoining  lots.  Here 
they  erected  a  large  two-story  building,  the  ground  floor, 
ninety  by  forty-five  feet,  being  devoted  to  a  play-room  for  the 
children,  while  the  upper  was  divided  by  sliding  partitions 
into  appropriate  school-rooms,  and  thrown  on  the  Sabbath  into 
a  large  chapel.  After  a  few  years  it  became  manifest  that 
the  growing  wants  of  the  Institution  demanded  more  ample 
accommodations.  The  hospital  department,  confined  to  a 
single  room,  was  far  too  small  to  accommodate  the  afflicted  of 
the  Institution  and  neighborhood.  The  chapel  ceiling  was 
too  low.  More  dormitories  were  needed,  and  a  better  nursery. 
An  article  setting  forth  these  wants,  published  in  the  "  Monthly 


FIVE-POINTS  HOUSE  OF  INDUSTRY. 


485 


Record,"  the  organ  of  the  Institution,  brought  pledges  in  a 
short  time  to  the  amount  of  $10,000,  to  which  one  of  the 
trustees  generously  added  another  $10,000. 

Arrangement  was  also  made  with  the  City  Mission  and 
Tract  Society,  which  loaned  the  House  of  Industry  $20,000 
without  interest,  for  the  privilege  of  using  the  chapel.  The 
trustees  then  decided  to  erect  on  the  site  of  the  school-rooms 
a  new  and  commodious  building.  The  edifice  was  begun  in 
August,  1869,  completed  and  dedicated  in  February,  1870. 
The  two  buildings,  though  somewhat  unlike  in  design,  form 
an  imposing  pile  about  one  hundred  feet  square.  The  stairs 
are  fire-proof,  the  beams  are  of  iron,  water  and  gas  are  carried 
to  every  floor.  The  chapel,  seventy  by  forty-five  feet,  is 
massively  pillared,  arched  overhead,  and  has  stained  glass 
windows.  The  school-rooms  afford  accommodations  for  five 
hundred  scholars,  and  the  dormitories  for  over  three  hundred 
beds.  The  ground  and  buildings  of  the  society  have  cost 
$125,000. 

The  whole  number  received  into  the  House  during  the  six- 
teen years  since  its  incorporation  amounts  to  over  nineteen 
thousand,  and  the  names  of  twenty-one  thousand  children  have 
in  the  same  time  been  enrolled  in  the  day  school,  with  a 
daily  attendance  varying  from  two  hundred  and  thirty  to  four 
hundred  and  twenty.  During  this  period  4,135,218  meals 
have  been  furnished  to  the  poor,  and  about  nine  thousand 
sent  to  situations. 


WORKING  WOMEN'S  HOME,  NO.  45  KMZABBTH  STREET. 


WOMAN'S  BOARDING-HOUSE. 

The  trustees  of  the  House  of  Industry,  commiserating' 
the  fate  of  the  many  thousand  females  in  the  city  toiling 
by  the  day  or  week,  with  no  relatives  or  homes,  resolved, 
in  1867,  to  open  a  Working  Women's  Home,  where  this  class 
might  find  clean,  well-ventilated  rooms,  wholesome  food,  and 
facilities  for  self-improvement,  under  Christian  influence,  at 
moderate  expense.  An  immense  building,  No.  45  Elizabeth 
street,  was  accordingly  purchased,  refitted,  and  furnished,  at 
an  expense  of  $120,000.    The  building  extends  from  Mott  to 


WOMAN'S  BOARDING-HOrSE. 


487 


Elizabeth  streets,  is  fifty-six  feet  wide,  two  hundred  feet 
deep,  and  six  stories  high,  besides  basement.  It  was  dedicated 
September  26, 1S67,  and  thrown  open  for  boarders  on  the  first 
day  of  the  following  month.  The  House  at  this  writing  has 
two  hundred  and  sixty  boarders,  and  has  rooms  for  about  one 
hundred  more.  Room-rent,  gas,  washing,  use  of  parlor  and 
bath-room,  are  furnished  for  the  small  sum  of  §1.25  per  week. 
Meals  are  provided  on  the  restaurant  plan  at  such  moderate 
rates,  that  the  whole  expense  of  living  does  not  exceed  three 
or  four  dollars  per  week.  This  Home  has  a  separate  superin- 
tendent, and  is  a  distinct  Institution,  though  managed  by  the 
same  board  of  trustees.  This  eminently  philanthropic  move- 
ment has  been  very  successful,  though  the  largest  expectations 
of  the  founders  have  not  yet  been  fully  realized.* 

The  entire  expenditures  of  the  Board  from  1855  to  1S70, 
including  both  Institutions,  amounted  to  §600,000.  The  or- 
ganization employs  no  travelling  solicitor,  but  makes  its  appeal 
through  the  press,  and  depends  upon  the  generosity  of  the  pub- 
lic for  the  several  thousand  dollars  necessary  to  defray  its 
monthly  expenses.  The  society,  in  185 7,  commenced  the  is- 
sue of  the  "Monthly  Record,"  which  now  has  a  circulation 
of  5,000  copies.  It  is  sent  to  subscribers  at  $1.00  a  year. 
Nearly  all  rhe  shoes  worn  in  the  Institution  and  given  away 
in  the  neighborhood,  amounting  to  fifteen  or  twenty  hundred 
pairs  every  year,  are  received  gratuitously  at  second  hand,  and 
are  repaired  in  their  own  shop.  At  least  ten  thousand  garments 
are  given  away  annually.  Boxes  of  clothing  and  provision 
are  received  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  from  some  of 
the  large  hotels  in  the  city  liberal  donations  of  provision  are 
sent  daily.  Since  the  organization  of  the  society  there  have 
been  five  superintendents  successively  employed — Messrs. 
Pease,  Talcott,  Barlow,  Halliday,  and  Barnard.  Upon  this 
oflicer  is  laid  a  heavier  burden  than  is  usually  borne  by  similar 
officials  in  other  institutions,  as  to  his  discretion  is  committed 
the  whole  matter  of  admissions,  dismissals,  and  the  dispensing 
of  outside  charities.  That  these  officers  have  been  wise  and 
efficient,  the  prefcnf  prosperous  condition  of  the  Institution 
attests. 

*  Since  the  first  issue  of  this  volume  the  Trustees  have  thought  it  wise  to 
discontinue  the  "Woman's  Boarding  House."  We  prefer,  however,  to  preserve 
its  history. 


VIEW  OK  THE  OLD  HOOKEKY  THAT  OCCUPIED  THE  SITE  OF  THE  HOWARD  MISSION.  THE 
BLACK  SEA  OE  SIN. 


HOWARD  MISSION  AND  HOME  FOR  LITTLE  WANDERERS. 

(No.  40  New  Bowery. ) 

Some  portions  of  the  city  of  New  York  present  as  dismal 
moral  deserts  as  can  be  found  on  the  entire  globe.  A  por- 
tion of  the  Fourth  Ward,  with  its  narrow,  crooked,  filthy 
streets  and  dilapidated  buildings,  filled  with  a  motley  popula- 
tion collected  from  all  countries,  packed  at  the  rate  of  290,000 
to  the  square  mile,  has  long  been  noted  as  one  of  the  princi- 
pal "  nests  "  for  fever,  cholera,  and  other  deadly  malaria  on 
the  island.  But  the  moral  aspect  of  this  locality  is  even  worse 
than  the  sanitary.  Nearly  every  second  door  is  a  rum-shop, 
dance-house,  or  sailors'  lodging,  where  thieves  and  villains  of 
both  sexes  and  of  every  degree  assemble,  presenting  a  concen- 
tration of  all  the  most  appalling  vices  of  which  fallen  human- 


HOWARD  MISSION  AND  HOME  FOE  LITTLE  WANDEEEES.  489 


ity  is  capable.  The  following  statement  from  the  superin- 
tendent, Kev.  Mr.  Yan  Meter,  will  afford  our  readers  a  con- 
cise view  of  this  most  important  work. 

"Bev.  J.  F.  Richmond — Dear  Brother:  In  compliance 
with  your  request  I  forward  to  you  a  brief  statement  by  the 
Board,  of  our  work  and  the  way  we  do  it :  " 

This  Mission  was  organized  by  the  Rev.  TV.  C.  Van  Meter, 
in  May,  1861,  and  until  1864  was  conducted  by  himself  and 
an  Advisory  Committee ;  when,  at  his  request,  it  was  regu- 
larly incorporated  and  placed  under  the  control  of  well-known 
citizens,  who  constitute  the  Board  of  Managers,  by  whom  its 
finances  are  administered,  and  all  disbursements  regulated 
under  a  system  of  strict  accountability. 

From  the  beginning  the  funds  have  passed  through  the  hands 
of  a  responsible  Treasurer,  by  whom  full  reports  of  receipts 
and  expenditures  have  been  made  each  year,  and  published 
in  the  daily  papers  and  in  the  "  Little  "Wanderer's  Friend." 

Object. — The  announcement  at  the  beginning  remains  un- 
changed : 

"  Our  object  is  to  do  all  the  good  we  can  to  the  souls  and 
bodies  of  all  whom  we  can  reach,  and  we  cordially  invite  to 
an  earnest  co-operation  with  us  all  who  love  our  Lord  J  esus 
Christ  in  sincerity." 

Not  Sectaeian. — The  Constitution  requires  that  "Dot 
-more  than  three  members  of  the  Board  shall  be  chosen  from 
the  same  denomination." 

The  Field  cannot  be  fully  described,  for  New  York  has 
become  the  almshouse  for  the  poor  of  all  nations,  and  the 
Fourth  Ward  (in  which  the  Mis-ion  is  located)  is  the  very 
concentration  of  all  evil  and  the  head-quarters  of  the  most 
desperate  and  degraded  representatives  of  many  nations.  It 
swarms  with  poor  little  helpless  victims,  who  are  born  in  sin 
and  shame,  nursed  in  misery,  want,  and  woe,  and  carefully 
trained  to  all  manner  of  degradation,  vice,  and  crime.  The 
packing  of  these  poor  creatures  is  incredible.  In  this  Ward 
there  are  less  than  two  dwelling  houses  for  each  low  rum  hole, 
gambling  house  and  den  of  infamy.  Near  us  on  a  small  lot, 
but  150  by  240  feet,  are  twenty  tenant  houses,  111  families, 
5  stables,  a  soap  and  candle  factory,  and  a  tan-yard.  On  four 
blocks  close  to  the  Mission  are  517  children,  318  Roman  Catho- 
lic and  10  Protestant  families,  35  rum-holes,  and  eighteen 
brothels.    In  No.  14  Baxter  street,  but  three  or  four  blocks 


490  HEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 

from  ns,  are  92  families,  consisting  of  92  men,  81  women,  54 
boys  and  53  girls.  Of  these  151  are  Italians,  92  Irish,  28 
Chinese,  3  English,  2  Africans,  2  Jews,  1  German,  and  but 
7  Americans. 


HOWAKD  MISSION  (WHEN  COMPLETED). 


Our  Work  is  chiefly  with  the  children.  These  are  divided 
into  three  classes,  consisting  of 

1st.  Those  placed  under  our  care  to  be  sent  to  homes  and 
situations. 

2d.  Those  whom  we  are  not  authorized  to  send  to  homes, 
but  who  need  a  temporary  shelter  until  their  friends  can  pro- 
vide for  them  or  surrender  them  to  us. 

Note. — These  two  classes  remain  day  and  night  in  the 
Mission. 

3d.  Those  who  have  homes  or  places  in  which  to  sleep. 
These  enjoy  the  benefits  of  the  wardrobe,  dining  and  school 
rooms,  but  do  not  sleep  in  the  Mission. 

Food,  fuel,  and  clothing  are  given  to  the  poor,  after  a  careful 
inspection  of  their  condition.    Mothers  leave  their  small  chil- 


HOWARD  MISSION  AND  HOME  FOR  LITTLE  WANDERERS.  491 


dren  in  the  day  nursery  during  the  day,  while  they  go  out  to 
work.  The  sick  are  visited,  assisted,  and  comforted.  Work  is 
sought  for  the  unemployed.  We  help  the  poor  to  help  them- 
selves. 

The  children  over  whom  we  can  get  legal  control  are 
placed  in  carefully  selected  Christian  families,  chiefly  in  the 
country,  either  for  adoption  or  as  members  of  the  families, 
where  they  are  tenderly  cared  for  in  sickness  and  in  health — 
sent  to  Sunday  School  and  Church — receive  a  good  Common 
School  education — trained  to  some  useful  business,  trade  or 
profession,  and  thus  fitted  for  the  great  duties  of  mature  life. 

Day  and  Sunday  Schools. — The  attendance,  neatness, 
order,  cheerfulness  enthusiasm,  and  rapid  improvement  in  the 
Day  and  Sunday  Schools  are  the  best  testimonials  that  our 
teachers  can  have  of  their  fitness  for  their  work. 

Conclusion. — Since  the  commencement  of  the  Mission  more 
than  10,000  children  have  been  received  into  its  Day  and 
Sunday  Schools,  hundreds  of  whom  have  been  placed  in  care- 
fully selected  Christian  homes.  Many  of  them  have  grown  up 
to  usefulness  and  comfort,  and  some  to  positions  of  influence 
and  importance. 

We  know  that  our  work  prevents  crime ;  keeps  hundreds 
of  children  out  of  the  streets,  keeps  boys  out  of  bar-rooms, 
gambling  houses  and  prisons,  and  girls  out  of  concert  saloons, 
dance-houses,  and  other  avenues  that  lead  down  to  death ; 
and  that  it  makes  hundreds  of  cellar  and  attic  homes  more 
cleanly,  more  healthy,  more  happy,  and  less  wretched,  wicked, 
and  hopeless. 

We  never  turn  a  homeless  child  from  our  door.  From 
past  experience  we  are  warranted  in  saying  that  one  dollar  a 
week  will  keep  a  well-filled  plate  on  our  table  for  any  little 
wanderer,  and  secure  to  it  all  the  benefits  of  the  Mission. 
Ten  dollars  will  pay  the  average  cost  of  placing  a  child  in  a 
good  home."  Many  apply  at  the  Mission  for  a  child.  It  is 
amusing  to  hear  their  inquiries  and  the  replies  of  the  superin- 
tendent. "  Have  you  a  nice  little  girl  to  send  away  into  a 
good  family?"  said  one  of  two  well-dressed  ladies,  who 
entered  the  office  while  we  there  in  quest  of  information  for 
this  chapter.  "  No,  we  have  not — yes,  we  have  one,"  said  the 
superintendent,  "a  dear  little  girl  who  is  just  recovering  from 
measles,  and  who  has  been  exposed  to  scarlet  fever  and  will 
probably  be  sick  with  it  by  to-morrow.  She  needs  some  goody 
kind  mother  to  love  her,  and  nurse  her,  and  train  her  up.  I 


492 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


am  afraid  the  angels  will  come  for  her  soon,  unless  some  of 
you  mothers  take  her."  They  were  not  in  search  of  such  a 
child  and  turned  toward  the  street.  When  a  class  of  these 
children  was  taken  West  some  years  ago  an  old  lady  of  wealth 
came  to  their  lodgings  and  said, "  If  you  have  a  crippled  boy 
give  him  to  me;  my  dear  boy  died  with  the  spinal  complaint. 
There  was  one  little  fellow  in  the  group  afflicted  with  this 
spinal  difficulty,  and  she  took  him  to  her  nice  home,  procured 
the  best  medical  skill  in  that  part  of  the  State,  and  after  years 
of  good  treatment  he  recovered,  and  is  now  a  successful  man. 

In  September,  1861,  the  "Little  Wanderer's  Friend,"  the 
organ  or  the  Mission,  a  16mo.  now  issued  quarterly,  was 
established.  It  contains  the  music  sung  in  the  Mission,  the 
history  of  the  Institution,  and  other  selections  and  thought 
gems.  It  has  now  a  circulation  of  five  thousand  copies.  The 
Institution  is  conducted  at  an  annual  expense  of  from  $35,000 
to  $40,000,  which  is  derived  from  voluntary  contributions. 

Mr.  Van  Meter  having  resigned  his  position  and  gone  to 
conduct  another  charity  in  Italy,  Kev.  L.  M.  Pease  has  been 
chosen  for  Superintendent. 


THE  MIDNIGHT  MISSION. 
(No.  260  Greene-street.) 


fHE  Midnight  Mission  grew  out  of  a  conversation 
between  the  Rev.  S.  Ii.  Hillyard,  chaplain  of  St. 
Barnabas  Mission,  and  Mr.  Gustavus  Stern,  now  a 
missionary,  who  had  just  arrived  from  England,  where 
he  had  observed  the  operations  of  a  mission  among  fallen 
women,  established  some  ten  years  previous  by  Mr.  Black- 
more,  a  Lieutenant  in  the  Royal  Navy.  Mr.  Hillyard  had 
already  given  the  subject  some  thought,  and  his  mind  being 
now  more  than  ever  awakened  to  its  importance,  he  brought 
the  matter  before  the  St.  Barnabas  Missionary  Association, 
at  one  of  its  regular  meetings,  rehearsed  the  account  of  the 
London  movement,  and  read  extracts  from  the  biography  of 
Lieutenant  Blackmore.  Two  gentlemen  of  the  Association 
volunteered  their  assistance  in  establishing  a  similar  move- 
ment in  New  York,  and  the  little  band  was  soon  strengthened 
by  many  additional  members.    A  sermon  by  Dr.  Peters,  yield- 


THE  MIDNIGHT  MISSION. 


493 


ing  a  collection  to  the  society,  and  a  public  meeting  in  the 
Sunday-school  room  of  Trinity  Chapel,  in  which  Bishop 
Potter,  Drs.  Dix,  Tuttle,  Montgomery,  and  others  gave  the 
movement  their  cordial  support,  led  the  managers  to  hire 
rooms  and  at  once  open  an  Institution.  Rooms  were  taken 
for  three  months  at  the  corner  of  Twelfth  street  and  Broad- 
way. The  plan  of  the  society  is  to  send  out  in  the  evening 
its  members  two  and  two  upon  the  streets,  with  printed  cards 
of  invitation,  which  are  given  to  young  women  supposed  to 
belong  to  the  suspicious  class,  and  to  such  as  seem  inclined  to 
hear  some  words  of  exhortation  are  added,  and  an  appropri- 
ate tract  given.  In  this  way  many  are  drawn  into  the  mission 
building,  where  they  are  kindly  received  by  Christian  ladies, 
offered  refreshments,  drawn  out  in  conversation  until  ten  or 
eleven  o'clock,  when  a  hymn  is  given  out  and  sung,  which  is 
followed  by  an  earnest  exhortation  and  a  prayer.  At  their  first 
reception  seventeen  were  drawn  in,  at  the  second  ten,  though 
the  night  was  stormy,  and  at  the  third  twenty-six.  On  the 
first  of  May,  1867,  the  society  removed  to  a  fine,  three-story 
brick  house,  No.  23  Amity  street,  which  was  rented  at  $2,500 
per  annum.  This  building  was  capable  of  well  accommo- 
dating eighteen  or  twenty  lodgers  besides  the  officers,  and  was 
generally  filled,  while  scores  sought  admission  in  vain  for 
want  of  room.  In  May,  1870,  the  Institution  was  again  re- 
moved to  a  larger  house,  capable  of  accommodating  thirty 
inmates.  The  trustees  have  recently  purchased  the  large 
house,  No.  260  Greene  street,  at  a  cost  of  $22,000.  It  lias  been 
extensively  improved  and  adapted  to  the  use  of  forty-five  or 
fifty  inmates.  All  were  taken  at  first  who  expressed  a  desire 
to  reform,  but  preference  is  now  given  to  the  younger  class. 
Work  is  furnished  the  inmates,  and  half  the  earnings  of  each 
given  for  her  own  use. 

During  the  six  years,  900  have  been  received  into  the  In- 
stitution." Of  the'  l66  sheltered  during  the  last  year,  21  were 
sent  to  other  institutions,  47  placed  in  good  situations,  11  were 
returned  to  friends,  and  36  returned  to  a  life  of  sin.  About 
fifty  encouraging  letters  were  received  during  the  year,  from 
those  who  haa  been  placed  in  situations.  The  managers  have 
sometimes  been  deceived  by  these  artful  creatures,  whose 
ways  are  so  "  movable "  that  they  succeed  in  deceiving  the 
very  elect.  But  with  all  the  discouragements  naturally  at- 
tending an  enterprise  of  this  kind,  the  society  has  held  stead- 
ilv  on  its  way  and  gives  promise  of  great  usefulness. 


WILSON'S   INDUSTRIAL   SCHOOL   FOR  GIRLS. 


{Corner  of  Avenue  A  and  St.  Mark's  place.) 

The  first  industrial  school  established  in  this  country  was 
commenced  some  time  in  the  year  1853.  Its  chief  founder 
was  Mrs.  Wilson,  wife  of  Rev.  James  P.  Wilson,  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church,  who  became  its  first  directress,  and  served  the 
society  with  great  efficiency  until  her  removal  from  the  city, 
in  consequence  of  her  husband's  accepting  a  call  to  serve  a 
church  in  an  adjoining  State.  The  school  began  in  a  hired 
room  in  an  upper  story  on  Avenue  D,  between  Eighth  and 
Ninth  streets.  On  May  13th,  1854,  the  Legislature  passed  the 
act  incorporating  the  society  as  "  Wilson's  Industrial  School 
for  Girls,"  in  honor  of  her  who  had  been  chiefly  instrumental 
in  its  establishment. 

In  May,  1855,  the  society  entered  the  previously  purchased 
building,  No.  137  Avenue  A,  Mrs.  Wilson  generously  con- 
tributing $1,000  in  securing  the  property. 

It  lias  never  been  the  purpose  of  the  society  to  rival  or 
supplant  our  excellent  Public  School  system,  but  to  go  into 
the  ianes  and  streets,  to  gather  in  and  benefit  a  class  too  poor 


Wilson's  industrial  school  for  girls. 


495 


and  filthy  to  enter  the  Ward  schools.  The  children  gathered 
here  were  for  the  most  part  barefooted,  ragged  street  children, 
obliged  to  beg  their  daily  bread,  and  so  degraded  in  appear- 
ance and  morals  that  if  many  of  them  were  admitted  into  a 
Public  School  another  class  would  be  soon  withdrawn  to 
avoid  the  unpleasant  contact.  Here  they  were  allowed  to  en- 
ter at  all  hours,  in  consequence  of  their  vagrant  habits,  though 
punctuality  was  much  encouraged — a  rule  that  could  not  be  tol- 
erated in  the  Public  Schools  without  destroying  all  classifica- 
tion and  order.  None  have  been  admitted  unless  too  poor  to 
attend  anywhere  else  ;  and  as  soon  as  their  circumstances  have 
sufficiently  improved,  they  have  been  promptly  transferred  to 
the  Public  Schools. 

The  efforts  of  these  Christian  ladies,  in  going  to  the  very 
lowest  sinks  of  society,  seeking  with  all  the  sanctified  arts  of 
kindness  and  culture  to  collect  and  polish  these  discolored 
fragments  of  our  degraded  humanity,  are  worthy  of  more 
than  human  commendation.  The  children  are  sought  out  by 
a  visitor,  and  induced  to  attend  the  school.  The  exercises 
are  opened  in  the  morning  with  brief  religious  exercises ;  after 
this  they  go  to  their  books  for  two  hours,  after  which  general 
exercises  and  singing  are  continued  until  dinner.  All  are 
furnished  with  a  simple  but  good  dinner  consisting  of  beef, 
vegetable  soup,  boiled  hominy  and  molasses,  codfish,  bean 
soup,  an  ample  supply  of  good  bread,  which  the  economical  ma- 
tron manages  to  supply  at  the  rate  of  three  cents  per  child.  A 
half -hour  is  given  for  play,  after  which  they  return  to  their 
rooms  and  are  instructed  for  two  hours  in  sewing  and  other 
handicraft.  Attendance  and  good  behavior  are  rewarded 
with  tickets,  which  a  prompt  girl  is  able  to  accumulate  to  an 
amount  representing  ten  cents  per  week.  These  are  redeemed 
with  new  clothes,  which  she  is  allowed  to  make  and  carry 
home.  All  industrious  girls  earn  some  wages,  and  some  who 
have  become  experts  receive  large  pay.  Custom  work  is 
taken  in  and  prepared  with  great  skill.  A  dress-making  class 
was  early  formed,  with  a  capable  woman  instructor.  In  1855 
a  department  was  organized  to  instruct  them  in  general  house- 
work, and  in  1866  a  class  for  fine  sewing,  embroidery,  etc. 
In  1854  they  organized  a  Sabbath  school,  which  has  at  pres- 
ent an  average  attendance  of  four  hundred  and  twenty-five 
scholars.  Like  most  mission  schools,  the  managers  have 
found  it  difficult  to  secure  plenty  of  good  teachers.  If  some 
fc£  the  many  Christian  people  in  our  large  churches,  corroding 

31 


496 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


for  want  of  something  to  do,  would  go  to  their  relief,  it 
would  be  a  blessing  to  all  concerned. 

A  Bible-reader  began  her  work  in  April,  1863,  and  out  of 
this  has  grown  a  weekly  "  mothers'  meeting."  A  weekly 
temperance  meeting,  and  a  prayer  meeting,  are  regularly 
held.  The  labors  of  a  missionary  were  secured  in  1866,  and 
the  services  immediately  crowned  with  the  conversion  of  sin- 
ners. These  converts  were  advised  to  attach  themselves  to 
the  neighboring  churches,  but  as  they  had  never  been  any- 
where else  to  service,  they  felt  a  reluctance,  and  refused  to  go. 
This  made  necessary  the  forming  of  an  organization  of  their 
own,  which  was  effected  in  June,  1869,  with  a  membership  of 
thirty-three,  since  increased  to  sixty-one.  The  organization 
is  evangelical,  but  not  denominational ;  clergymen  of  several 
denominations  have  been  invited  to  administer  the  sacraments. 
During  the  first  eleven  years  no  legacy  was  received,  and  but 
two  donations  from  the  city  authorities.  The  late  Chauncey 
Rose,  at  a  later  period,  remembered  the  Institution  with 
$20,000,  and  others  have  since  turned  a  portion  of  their  bene- 
factions in  this  direction.  In  the  spring  of  1869,  the  society 
purchased  a  fine  four-story  brick  building,  fifty  by  ninety  feet, 
on  the  corner  of  Avenue  A  and  St.  Mark's  place,  at  a  cost  of 
$84,000.  A  debt  of  $14,000  still  remains  on  the  property, 
which  the  generous  public  have  been  invited  to  assist  in  re- 
moving. A  vacant  lot  adjoining  the  building  was  included  in 
the  purchase  for  the  erection  or  a  chapel.  Two  floors  of  the 
building  did  not  come  into  the  possession  of  the  society  until 
May,  1871,  since  which  the  building  has  afforded  the  very 
best  accommodations  for  a  large  school,  and  brought  a  small 
income. 

The  present  matron  has  presided  over  the  Institution  with 

great  acceptability  eighteen  years. 

Since  the  first  issue  of  this  work  the  mortgage  on  the  prop- 
erty has  been  cancelled,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  managers. 


NEW  YORK  HOUSE  AKD  SCHOOL  OF  INDUSTRY. 

\ 


(ift>.  120  West  Sixteenth  street.) 

HE  society  that  established  this  industrial  enterprise 
was  duly  incorporated  by  act  of  Legislature  in  1851, 
with  the  design  of  furnishing  employment  in  needle- 
work to  infirm  and  destitute  females  at  such  a  rate  of 
remuneration  as  should  afford  them  a  livelihood.  It  is  not  de- 
signed to  encourage  supineness  and  beggary,  but  the  principle 
of  self-help  and  self-respect.  It  generously  proposes  to  help 
those  who  are  willing  to  Uelp  themselves,  and  those  first  and 
only  who  are  destitute  of  employment.  It  never  employs 
those  to  whom  other  avenues  of  industry  are  open,  and  it 
never  turns  away  a  needy,  industrious  widow  if  it  can  be  pre- 
vented. Its  organization,  which  is  vested  with  power  of  self- 
perpetuation,  consists  of  a  board  of  about  fifty  Christian 
ladies,  with  an  advisory  committee  of  gentlemen  to  assist  them 
in  managing  their  finances.  The  House,  which  is  situated  at 
No.  120  West  Sixteenth  street,  is  a  wooden  structure,  with  a 
rear  building  fitted  up  for  an  industrial  school,  and  cost  about 
$16,000.  The  society  purchases  goods,  and  makes  market- 
able garments,  and  sells  them  in  its  own  store,  drawing  in  the 
meantime  all  the  custom  work  its  managers  are  able  to 
secure.  Three  general  committees  have  the  principal  man- 
agement of  the  business :  1.  The  Purchasing,  which  selects 
and  procures  all  the  fabrics  ;  2.  The  Cutting,  which  prepares 
the  work  for  the  seamstresses ;  and,  3.  The  Appraising,  which 
attaches  a  card  to  each  garment,  stating  the  price  that  will  be 
paid  for  making,  and  when  made,  the  price  at  which  it  may 
be  sold. 

Besides  these  three  committees  which  are  formed  from  the 
directresses,  there  are  several  from  the  managers,  viz.,  a 
Visiting,  a  Distributing,  a  Registering,  a  Paying,  and  one  on 
Ordered  Work. 

Work  is  given  to  needy  women  from  every  part  of  the  city, 
and  unlike  most  other  establishments,  this  society  gives  em- 
ployments through  all  seasons  of  the  year.  It  furnishes  two 
kinds  of  work : 


408 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


I.  FINE  ORDERED  WORK. 

Those  only  who  excel  in  needle-work  find  employment  in 
this  department.  Bridal  outfits,  embroidery,  braiding,  knit- 
ting, quilting,  and  other  choice  and  difficult  tasks  are  pro- 
duced with  astonishing  proficiency,  and  compare  favorably 
with  the  best  imported  specimens  in  this  line.  Some  of  these 
undertakings  require,  in  order  to  their  successful  completion, 
as  much  talent  and  effort  as  is  required  to  enter  one  of  the 
learned  professions,  and  the  society  has  found  it  difficult  to 
secure  the  services  of  a  sufficient  number  of  this  class  to  be 
able  to  fill  all  orders  of  this  kind  with  despatch. 

n.  HOUSE-WORK. 

This  includes  all  ordinary  sewing  for  household  use,  gar- 
ments for  both  sexes  and  of  every  description.  Large  orders 
are  taken  from  some  of  the  missions  and  promptly  filled.  Here 
the  miserably  poor,  whose  hands  have  been  so  hardened  as  to 
incapacitate  them  for  neat  sewing,  find  employment. 

Several  years  ago,  a  class  was  formed  from  these  adults  by 
the  managers,  to  teach  them  to  become  expert  seamstresses; 
but  after  much  effort  it  was  found  impossible  to  much  im- 
prove them,  and  so  the  undertaking  was  relinquished. 

During  1870,  258  women  were  employed,  and  $10,165  paid 
for  such  service.  Receipts  from  sales  of  garments  during  the 
same  time  amounted  to  $8,873.70,  and  from  ordered  work, 
$4,710.69.  The  society  has  all  the  appliances  for  doing 
three  times  the  amount  of  work,  but  fails  to  dispose  of  its 
stock,  owing  largely,  we  think,  to  the  fact  that  its  House  is 
situated  in  a  poor  business  locality,  and  with  no  adequate 
scheme  for  wholesaling. 

The  society  has  an  invested  fund  of  about  $18,000,  besides 
its  real  estate. 

There  is  a  sewing-school  also  connected  with  the  House, 
where  one  hundred  and  thirty  girls  were  instructed  in  1870. 
Spiritual  instruction  is  blended  with  manual.  Portions  of 
Scripture  and  hymns  are  orally  taught,  and  a  good  library 
has  been  provided.  Three  hours  on  Wednesday,  and  three  on 
Saturday,  they  are  instructed  in  needle-work.  Each  is  en- 
couraged to  finish  a  garment,  which  becomes  her  own.  An 
annual  exhibition  is  neld  in  January,  when  their  work  is  ex- 
amined, and  each  girl  receives  the  garment  she  has  made. 


THE  CHILDREN'S  ADD  SOCIETY. 


499 


Many  of  the  girls  who  were  here  a  few  years  ago  are  now 
filling  fine  situations,  and  the  religious  instructions  inculcated 
at  the  House  have  resulted  in  their  conversion.  The  hall  in 
the  rear  building  is  hired  for  an  Episcopal  Sunday  school, 
which  has  led  some  to  erroneously  suppose  that  the  House 
was  denominational.  The  society  is  not  limited  in  its  opera- 
tions by  creed  or  nationality. 

An  infant  industrial  school  has  also  been  established,  which 
is  open  daily  to  small  children  of  both  sexes.  The  supervis- 
ion of  this  is  committed  to  Mr.  Brace  of  the  "  Children's  Aid 
Society."  About  fifty  children  attend,  mostly  from  crowded 
tenement-houses.  A  comfortable  dinner  is  provided  for  them, 
and  it  is  hoped  that,  by  thus  surrounding  them  for  a  few 
hours  each  day  with  elevating  influences,  they  will  be  stimu- 
lated to  self-help  and  self-respect. 

The  managers  have  made  arrangements  so  that  those 
formerly  in  its  employ,  but  whose  age  or  misfortune  now  in- 
capacitates them  for  toil,  receive  a  small  annuity.  A  Bible- 
class  and  a  Mothers'  Social  and  Religious  Meeting  are  held 
one  day  each  week  in  the  school-room.  The  women  assemble, 
and  while  engaged  with  their  needles,  the  Bible  is  read,  ex- 
pounded, and  its  claims  urged  upon  them.  The  benevolent 
ladies  who  projected  this  Institution,  and  have  nobly  sustained 
it  during  twenty  years,  often  amid  difficulties  that  have 
caused  them  nights  of  sleepless  anxiety,  have  performed  a 
noble  work  that  will  never  be  forgotten.  They  have  raised 
the  fallen,  cheered  the  faint,  and  covered  the  naked  with 
a  garment.  They  have  carried  bread  to  the  homes  of  the 
famishing  and  the  fatherless,  and  many  times  assuaged  the 
sorrows  of  her  who  was  ready  to  nerish. 


THE  CHILDREN'S  AID  SOCIETY. 

{Office  No.  19  East  Fourth  street.) 

MONG  the  numerous  organizations  established 
during  the  last  half  century  for  the  improvement  of 
society,  few  have  been  more  energetic  or  successful 
than  the  Children's  Aid  Society,  formed  in  February, 
1853.  The  prime  mover  in  this  association  at  its  organiza- 
tion, and  down  through  the  eighteen  years  of  its  wondrous 


500 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


career,  has  been  Mr.  Charles  Loring  Brace,  the  present  secre- 
tary of  the  society.  While  pursuing  a  theological  course  in 
New  York  city,  he  gave  much  labor  to  various  institutions, 
seeking  the  recovery  of  neglected  vagrant  and  delinquent 
children,  and  to  the  prisons  where  mature  criminals  were 
confined.  A  trip  to  England  and  other  parts  of  Europe, 
where  he  carefully  examined  the  institutions,  and  the  meas- 
ures formed  for  the  reformation  of  the  fallen,  led  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  chief  evils  of  society  resulted  from  the 
neglects  of  childhood,  and  that  the  largest  efforts  of  the  phi- 
lanthropist should  be  bent  in  this  direction.  Some  time  after 
his  return  he  drew  together  a  number  of  intelligent  and 
benevolent  gentlemen  who  had  already  manifested  an  interest 
in  this  subject,  and  organized  this  society,  the  object  being 
to  "  improve  the  condition  of  the  poor  and  destitute  children 
of  the  city  of  New  York."  One  outside  of  this  city  would 
be  surprised  to  know  how  large  a  number  of  little  orphans 
and  half -orphans,  children  cast  out  from  their  homes,  or  who 
have  drifted  here  by  the  tide  of  emigration,  or  have  run  away 
from  their  parents  in  the  surrounding  country,  and  the  off- 
spring of  dissolute  parents,  are  here  living  vagabond  lives, 
subsisting  as  best  they  can,  sleeping  in  boxes,  under  stair- 
ways, and  in  the  lobbies  of  the  printing  offices. 

These  are  at  first  the  newsboys,  boot-blacks,  pedlers,  errand- 
boys,  petty  thieves,  but  become  at  a  later  period  the  pick- 
pockets, gamblers,  street  loafers,  burglars,  and  prostitutes. 
There  are  always  probably  ten  thousand  of  this  class  floating 
around  the  city,  a  few  of  whom  try  to  be  honest  and  industri- 
ous, but  many  more  live  entirely  by  their  wit  and  skill.  The 
society  during  the  eighteen  years  of  its  operations  has  ex- 
pended, aside  from  its  purchases  of  real  estate,  about  $940,000. 
It  has  devised  and  opened  a  system  of  lodging-houses  for  the 
boys,  and  also  for  homeless  girls,  and  has  at  present  twenty- 
two  industrial  schools,  scattered  through  the  various  parts  of 
the  city,  for  poor  and  neglected  girls.  The  homeless,  after 
some  instruction,  are  taken  to  the  West,  if  they  can  be  in- 
duced to  go,  where  good  situations  are  provided.  The  ex- 
periment of  opening  a  lodging-house  for  newsboys  and  boot- 
blacks was  so  novel,  that  scarcely  any  could  be  found  to 
encourage  the  measure,  and  much  search  was  required  to 
find  a  building  that  could  be  hired  for  such  use.  At  length 
the  loft  of  the  Sun  Building  was  secured,  and  after  spending 
a  thousand  dollars  in  furnishing  it,  the  boys  were  invite;!  to 


THE  CHILDBEDS  AID  SOCIETY. 


501 


come  in.  The  first  night,  March  18,  1854,  the  room  was 
crowded  with  these  wild,  ragged  roughs,  many  of  whom  were 
hatless,  bootless,  indescribably  filthy,  and  covered  with  ver- 
min, a  large  part  of  them  unable  to  read  or  write,  and  some  of 
whom  did  not  know  their  nationality  or  names.  A  man  of 
admirable  tact  and  fitness,  Mr.  C.  C.  Tracy,  had  been  provi- 
dentially secured  to  take  charge  of  this  branch  of  the  enter- 
prise. He  addressed  the  boys  kindly,  and  informed  them 
that  they  were  not  objects  of  charity,  but  were  to  be  con- 
sidered lodgers  in  their  own  hotel,  paying  six  cents  each  for 
his  bed,  the  rules  of  the  house  being  that  they  should  keep 
order  among  themselves,  and  use  the  bath.  They  cheered 
him  lustily,  and  one  of  the  largest  boys  soon  stepped  forward 
and  paid  for  a  week's  lodging  in  advance.  There  was  much 
"  larking  "  and  mischief  manifested,  requiring  great  patience 
and  wisdom  on  the  part  of  the  superintendent,  but  with  ad- 
mirable adrtfitness  he  soon  introduced  the  Lord's  Prayer,  which 
they  were  induced  to  repeat,  the  evening  school  followed, 
and  finally  the  full  religious  service.  Many  of  these  boys 
were  found  to  be  earning  several  dollars  per  day  selling 
papers,  and  none  of  them  less  than  from  fifty  to  seventy-five 
cents,  all  of  which  they  squandered  on  theatres,  cards,  dice,  lot- 
tery-tickets, and  costly  meals  in  the  saloons.  To  correct  these 
habits,  he  introduced  checkers,  backgammon,  and  other  games 
to  keep  them  from  the  streets,  and  contrived  what  has  been  a 
blessing  to  thousands,  the  ^Newsboys'  Savings  Bank.  A  table, 
with  a  drawer  divided  into  small  compartments,  with  a  slit 
in  the  surface  over  each  through  which  the  boys  could  slip 
their  pennies,  was  prepared,  and  each  box  numbered  for  a  de- 
positor. As  any  undue  authority  would  have  sent  them  fly- 
ing to  their  original  Arab  life,  he  called  them  together  and 
explained  the  object  of  the  bank,  to  induce  them  to  save  their 
money,  and  called  for  a  vote  as  to  how  long  it  should  be  kept 
locked.  They  voted  for  two  months.  Having  obtained  a 
majority  vote  for  a  good  measure,  they  were  always  held 
strictly  to  their  own  law,  however  deeply  they  might  repent 
afterwards.  The  amount  saved  by  some  in  that  time  aston- 
ished all  of  them,  the  value  of  property  was  impressed  on 
their  minds,  some  took  their  accumulations  to  the  city  Savings 
Banks,  and  others  purchased  good  clothes.  This  invention  did 
more  to  destroy  their  gambling  and  extravagant  tendencies 
than  everything  else.  A  plan  for  lending  penniless  boys 
money  to  begin  business  of  some  kind  was  introduced. 


502 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


Sums  varying  from  five  to  fifty  cents  were  loaned,  generally 
returned  the  same  day,  often  the  same  hour,  and  did  much 
to  encourage  industry  and  thrift. 

Thus  the  work  of  reformation  advanced ;  they  became  more 
tidy,  industrious,  studious,  regular  in  their  habits,  and  serious 
at  divine  service.  Ministers  and  other  speakers  were  invited 
to  address  them.  One  has  well  said,  "  There  is  something  un- 
speakably solemn  and  affecting  in  the  crowded  and  attentive 
meeting  of  these  boys,  and  the  thought  that  you  speak  for  a 
few  minutes  on  the  high  themes  of  eternity  to  a  young 
audience,  who,  to-morrow,  will  be  battling  with  misery,  temp- 
tation, and  sin,  in  every  shape  and  form,  and  to  whom  your 
words  may  be  the  last  they  ever  hear  of  friendly  sympathy  or 
warning."  The  seed  has  sometimes  sprung  up  suddenly,  and 
in  other  instances  after  many  days.  At  one  service  a  boy 
addicted  to  thieving  was  so  impressed  that  at  its  close  he 
called  the  superintendent  aside,  confessed  his  crimes,  gave 
up  a  dark  lantern,  a  wrench,  a  pistol,  and  has  since  filled  a 
good  place  as  an  excellent  boy.  No  story  of  misfortune  has 
ever  been  presented  to  the  boys  without  eliciting  a  generous 
response  and  material  aid.  They  contributed  to  the  "  Mount 
Vernon  Fund,"  to  the  Kansas  sufferers,  to  the  Sanitary  Com- 
mission, and  to  the  relief  of  sufferers  from  great  fires  in  the 
city.  Thousands  have  gone  to  the  country,  scarcely  any  of 
whom  have  turned  out  drunkards,  some  of  them  have  entered 
the  ministry  and  the  learned  professions,  and  many  of  them 
have  accumulated  property.  Many  of  them  are  singularly 
talented ;  and,  being  early  schooled  to  tact  and  self-reliance, 
they  almost  invariably  succeed  in  any  undertaking.  The 
newsboys  and  boot-blacks  of  New  York  are  a  new  crop  each 
year,  ragged  and  ignorant  as  their  predecessors.  So  the  toil  of 
this  society  continues  from  year  to  year.  The  society  has  five 
lodging-houses  at  present,  the  one  at  No.  49  Park  place  being 
the  largest,  having  accommodations  for  two  hundred  and  fifty. 
A  fund  of  $70,000  has  been  provided  to  build  or  purchase  a 
building  in  that  ward.  Three  of  the  trustees  have  recently 
purchased  the  building  occupied  in  the  Sixteenth  ward.  It 
is  a  four-story  brick  in  Eighteenth  street,  near  Seventh 
avenue,  has  accommodations  for  a  hundred  boys,  and  cost 
$14,000.  The  same  fruit  has  not  attended  the  lodging- 
house  system  among  the  girls,  yet  it  has  been  a  necessity 
and  a  success.  The  edifice  No.  27  Saint  Mark's  place  has 
been  purchased  for  a  Girl's  lodging-house,  at  an  expense  of 


THE  CHILDREN'S  ADD  SOCIETY. 


503 


$22,500.  The  lodging-houses  are  supplied  with  reading- 
rooms,  evening  schools,  music,  and  meals.  The  twenty-two 
industrial  schools  for  poor  girls  are  located  in  the  different 
sections  of  the  city  where  the  class  for  which  they  were  insti- 
tuted are  most  numerous.  These  children  and  half-grown 
girls  are  sought  out  by  visitors  appointed  by  the  managers. 
They  are  such  as  do  not  attend  the  ward  schools,  wild, 
ragged,  apparently  untamable,  many  of  them  growing  up 
within  a  few  blocks  of  Union  square  and  other  fashionable 
centers,  living  in  cellars,  garrets,  or  miserable  shanties,  with- 
out any  of  the  advantages  of  school  or  church.  They  are  when 
found  filthy,  indolent,  quarrelsome,  and  profoundly  ignorant 
of  everything.  They  cannot  close  a  rent  in  a  garment,  or 
attend  to  any  household  duty.  In  these  schools  they  are 
taught,  besides  other  species  of  handicraft,  the  use  of  the 
sewing-machine,  which  invariably  secures  them  a  good  situa- 
tion. Beside  the  paid  teachers,  many  ladies  of  culture  vol- 
unteer to  assist  in  conducting  these  schools.  During  the  last 
nine  months,  7,000  different  children  have  been  under  instruc- 
tion in  these  industrial  schools,  12,000  have  found  quarters  in 
the  lodging-houses,  and  2,298  have  been  placed  in  homes, 
mainly  in  the  West.  The  managers  express  deep  gratitude 
that  no  railroad  accident  has  ever  occurred  while  conducting 
the  more  than  eighteen  thousand  children  to  their  ne^ 
homes  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  The  children  are  not 
-  legally  bound  out,  so  but  that  if  they  prove  truant,  or  their 
employers  play  the  tyrant,  the  connection  may  be  at  any 
time  dissolved.  No  one  not  engaged  in  this  work  can 
appreciate  the  magnitude  of  the  evil  this  society  is  toiling  to 
prevent,  or  the  good  it  is  yearly  accomplishing.  Notwith- 
standing the  increase  of  population,  the  sentences  to  the  city 
prisons,  for  such  offences  as  children  usually  commit,  are  less 
than  formerly.  We  find  the  total  for  vagrancy  for  1869 
only  about  half  what  it  was  in  1862 — 2,071  as  against  4,299, 
and  the  females  only  numbered  785  against  3,172  in  1862 ; 
the  total  of  this  year,  646  less  than  in  the  year  previous.  In 
petit  larceny,  the  total  was  only  increased  from  2,779  to  3,327 
in  seven  years,  though  population  has  probably  increased  thirty- 
five  per  cent,  in  that  time,  and  among  females  it  has  risen 
only  from  880  in  1862,  to  989  in  1869  ;  while  the  total  is  836 
less  than  last  year. 

"  The  commitments  of  boys  under  15  years  are  less  than 
four  years  ago — 1,872  in  1862  against  1,934  in  1865,  and  of 


504 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


girls  between  15  and  20,  less  than  they  were  seven  years  ago 
— 1,927  against  2,081 ;  and  of  those  under  15,  less,  being 
325  in  1869  against  372  in  1862  ;  the  total  commitments  in 
1869,  as  against  1862,  are  46,476  to  41,449  ;  in  1868  thev 
were  47,313. 

"  The  arrests  for  vagrancy  are  2,449  against  3,961  in  1862 ; 
for  picking  pockets,  303  against  466  ;  for  petit  larceny,  4,927 
against  3,946,  and  against  5,260  in  1865,  and  5,269  in  1867. 

"  The  arrests  of  minors  are  less  than  they  were  in  1867, 
and  but  little  greater  than  in  1863,  12,075  against  11,357 ; 
and  those  of  female  minors  have  fallen  off,  in  seven  years, 
2,397  against  2,885  in  1862  to  3,132  in  1863— the  total 
amount  of  all  ages  is  78,451  in  1869  against  84,072  in  1863, 
and  71,130  in  1862. 

"  The  marked  changes  which  everywhere  occur  in  criminal 
records  of  our  city,  in  the  arrest  and  punishment  of  girls,  is 
especially  due,  we  believe,  to  the  agency  of  '  Industrial 
Schools.5 " 


SOCIETY  FOR  THE  EMPLOYMENT  AND  RELIEF  OF  POOR 
WOMEN. 

^.WpAYENTY-SIX  years  ago,  under  the  influence  of  the 
^OKf  Rev.  Orville  Dewey,  JD.D.,  pastor  of  the  church  of 
^JH^I  the  Messiah,  this  society  was  organized,  and  has  the 
honor  of  being  the  first  of  its  kind  in  New  York. 
The  object  of  the  society  is  to  prevent,  in  a  measure,  the  pau- 
perism which  forms  so  painful  a  feature  in  the  community ; 
to  supersede  the  daily  almsgiving,  which,  instead  of  benefit- 
ing, only  tends  to  deepen  the  degradation  of  this  class  by  de- 
priving them  of  a  healthful  self-dependence ;  to  elevate  them 
to  the  rank  of  independent  laborers,  and  insure  them  a  fair 
compensation  for  their  toil.  The  annual  payment  of  three 
dollars  at  first  made  a  person  a  member  of  the  society,  but  in 
1847  the  sum  was  changed  to  five  dollars,  and  in  1865  to 
eight  dollars.  The  management  is  committed  to  a  President, 
a  Vice-President,  a  Secretary,  a  Treasurer,  and  twelve  mana- 
gers, all  of  whom  are  ladies.  Each  subscriber  is  allowed  to 
send  one  applicant  to  the  directors,  but  is  held  responsible 


ASSOCIATION  FOR  IMPKOVTNG  THE  CONDITION  OF  POOE.  505 


for  any  delinquencies  in  the  person  thus  sent.  Goods  are 
purchased,  manufactured  into  garments,  and  disposed  of  in 
the  store  kept  by  the  society,  and  in  such  other  ways  as  the 
managers  shall  direct.  During  1869  work  was  given  weekly 
to  ninety-six  women,  and  three  thousand  two  Hundred  and 
sixty-one  garments  were  manufactured.  The  society  has  ex- 
perienced some  difficulty  in  disposing  of  its  goods,  the  sales 
of  the  year  amounting  to  but  little  over  §3,000.  The  report 
of  1870  shows  a  small  decrease  on  the  previous  year.  Other 
societies  in  the  city  have  grown  up  from  the  example  fur- 
nished by  this,  and  now  control  many  times  its  amount  of 
labor  and  capital.  The  society  owns  no  building  and  oper- 
ates with  a  small  capital. 

The  managers  have  recently  proposed  to  open  a  Mission 
House  for  missionary  work  among  women  and  girls.  They 
propose  to  keep  the  girls  through  the  day,  providing  dinner, 
giving  them  instruction  in  useful  studies  during  the  morn- 
ing hours,  devoting  the  afternoon  to  needle-work  in  all 
branches.  Every  girl  in  turn  to  take  part  in  the  housework 
under  the  direction  of  a  competent  matron.  They  thus  hope 
in  time  to  establish  a  seamstress,  a  dressmaking,  and  a  wash- 
ing department,  each  of  which  shall  be  self-supporting.  The 
new  building  to  contain  rooms  to  be  used  on  Sabbath  for 
Bible  classes  and  Sunday  school,  and  on  week  evenings  for 
reading-room,  lectures,  music,  and  other  entertainments  and 
"instruction  suited  to  the  wants  of  the  pupils.  The  society  is 
wholly  controlled  by  the  Unitarians. 


THE  NEW  YORK  ASSOCIATION  FOR  IMPROVING  THE  CON- 
DITION OF  THE  POOR 

{Office  in  Bible  Rouse.) 

^Ff^VpEW  YORK,  like  every  other  great  and  populous  city, 
^Ljp  is  largely  overrun  with  an  army  of  beggars  of  both 
JpTV3  sexes,  representing  all  ages  and  nationalities.    Some  of 
^  *  these  are  wealthy  misers,  retailing  pretended  sorrows  to 
increase  their  gains,  others  meanly  beg  to  avoid  industry,  a  large 
number  are  improvident,  and  some  nitherto  industrious  and 


506 


NEW  TOEK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


successful  are  so  reduced,  in  times  of  general  embarrassment, 
that  begging  becomes  a  necessity.  Many  of  this  latter  class, 
finding  themselves  thus  sadly  in  decline,  become  demoralized, 
and  sink  down  to  the  slum  of  common  pauperism.  It  is 
hardly  a  virtue  to  give  indiscriminately  to  all  that  ask, 
because  dissipation,  idleness,  and  needless  vagrancy,  would 
be  thus  greatly  increased.  All  have  not  the  time  to  inquire 
into  the  character  and  condition  of  applicants,  hence  the 
necessity  of  a  carefully  organized  association,  to  whom  the 
worthy  poor  may  successfully  apply. 

In  1843  this  Association  was  formed,  and  in  1848  it  was 
duly  incorporated.  The  wonderful  increase  of  foreign  pau- 
pers had  greatly  swelled  the  army  of  straggling  mendicants. 
To  meet  the  demands,  more  than  thirty  almsgiving  societies 
had  been  formed,  many  of  which  gave  far  too  indiscrimi- 
nately ;  all  acted  independently,  thus  furnishing  an  opportu- 
nity for  artful  mendicants  to  draw  at  the  same  time  from 
several  societies  without  detection.  This  society  did  not  de- 
sign to  supersede  any  other,  but  simply  to  supply  what  in 
others  was  manifestly  lacking.  But  so  wise  and  comprehen- 
sive was  its  plan,  that  in  a  short  time  most  of  the  others  dis- 
banded, leaving  a  far  greater  burden  for  it  to  carry  than  it 
had  originally  anticipated.  The  Association  divided  the  city 
into  twenty-two  districts,  which  are  again  subdivided  into 
sections,  so  small  that  the  visitor  residing  in  each  could  call 
at  the  house  of  every  applicant.  No  supplies  are  given  save 
through  the  visitor.  The  Association  gives  no  money,  and 
only  such  articles  of  food  and  clothing,  in  small  quantities,  as 
are  least  liable  to  abuse,  giving  always  coarser  supplies  than 
industry  will  procure.  The  design  of  the  Association  is  not 
the  mere  temporary  relief,  but  the  elevation  of  the  moral  and 
physical  condition  of  the  indigent ;  hence,  temporary  relief  is 
resorted  to  when  compatible  with  its  general  design.  It  re- 
quires every  beneficiary  to  abstain  from  intoxicating  drinks, 
to  send  young  children  to  school,  to  apprentice  children  of 
suitable  age,  thus  making  the  poor  a  party  to  their  own  im- 
provement. During  the  twenty-seven  years  of  its  operations, 
the  Association  has  relieved  over  one  hundred  and  eighty  thou- 
sand families,  varying  from  five  to  fifteen  thousand  per  an- 
num, amounting  to  at  least  7 65,000  individuals.  Its  disburse- 
ments down  to  October,  1870,  amounted  to  $1,203,767.53. 

The  labors  of  the  Association  for  the  elevation  of  the  indi- 
gent and  the  suppression  of  unnecessary  pauperism,  ha*6 


ASSOCIATION  FOl*  IMPROVING  THE  CONDITION  OF  POOE.  507 


been  crowned  with  the  most  gratifying  results.  Its  last 
annual  report  states  that  the  average  number  of  families  re- 
lieved for  the  ten  years  ending  with  1860  was  8,632,  in  a  pop- 
ulation averaging  about  625,000  souls ;  while  in  the  decade 
closing  with  1870,  with  a  population  of  over  900,000,  but 
6,131  families  had  been  the  annual  average  number  relieved. 
These  figures  show  that  during  the  first  decade  named  there 
was  an  absolute  gain  in  the  pecuniary  independence  of  the 
masses  previously  relieved  of  seventy-one  jper  cent.,  and 
during  the  ten  years  closing  with  1870  an  additional  im- 
provement of  fifty-four  per  cent.,  or  the  substantial  gain  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  per  cent,  during  the  last  twenty 
years. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  amount  of  relief  afforded  by 
the  sums  of  money  expended  give  but  an  imperfect  estimate 
of  the  service  rendered  by  this  Association  to  the  cause  of 
humanity.  Always  managed  by  wise,  philanthropic  minds, 
it  has  ever  been  first  to  discover  the  source  of  public  evil,  and 
prompt  to  suggest  and  apply  the  true  remedy.  Indeed,  to  this 
Association  more  than  to  any  other  are  we  indebted  for  the 
successful  inauguration  of  more  than  a  score  of  our  most  excel- 
lent charities.  Besides  furnishing  th^  public  with  volumes  of 
statistics,  accumulated  with  great  expense,  in  relation  to  our 
population,  the  causes  and  remedies  of  poverty,  the  unhealthy 
condition  of  our  dwellings,  and  many  other  things  which 
have  led  to  great  reforms,  it  has  waged  unceasing  war  with 
the  public  nuisances  of  the  city,  its  lotteries,  Sabbath  desecra- 
tion, gambling  dens,  intemperance,  and  many  other  evils.  In 
1846  a  system  for  the  gratuitous  supply  of  medical  aid,  to 
the  indigent  sick  in  portions  of  the  city  not  reached  by  exist- 
ing Dispensaries,  was  organized.  This  led  to  the  founding 
of  the  Demilt  Dispensary  in  1851,  and  the  North-western 
Dispensary  in  1852.  In  1851  it  projected  the  New  York 
Juvenile  Asylum. 

A  Public  Washing  and  Bathing  Establishment  was  estab- 
lished in  1852,  at  an  expense  of  $42,000,  and  the  following 
year  the  Association  procured  an  act  to  provide  for  the  care 
and  instruction  of  Idle  Truant  Children. 

In  1854  the  Children's  Aid  Society  was  formed  by  the  de- 
mands of  a  public  sentiment  which  this  Association  had 
largely  created.  The  Workingmen's  Home  was  erected  in 
1855,  by  the  direction  of  the  Association,  at  an  expense  of 
$90,000.    During  the  war  it  held  steadily  on  its  way,  and 


508 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


accomplished  a  vast  amount  of  good  in  more  ways  than  we 
have  space  to  enumerate.  We  mention  in  honor  of  this 
society — last,  but  not  least — in  1863  it  organized  the  society 
for  the  Eelief  of  the  Euptured  and  Crippled,  which  ranks  to- 
day among  the  noblest  charities  of  New  York. 

The  Honorable  Eobert  M.  Hartley  has  been  the  indefati- 
gable ^  corresponding  secretary  and  agent  of  the  society 
since  its  formation,  and  to  the  patient  thinking  and  incessant 
toil  of  this  gentleman  is  the  public  indebted  tor  much  of  the 
good  accomplished  by  this  and  by  several  other  societies. 
We  cheerfully  acknowledge  our  obligation  to  the  secretary 
and  his  associate,  Mr.  Savage,  for  various  items  of  informa- 
tion embodied  in  this  work. 


THE  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION  OF  NEW  YORK. 

{Corner  of  Fourth  avenue  and  Twenty-third  street.) 


^.  l? 83  HE  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  are  soci- 
'iJKjf  eties  which  have  for  their  object  the  formation  of 
*^£f^|  Christian  character  and  the  development  of  Christian 
activity  in  young  men.  The  first  Association  was  or- 
ganized in  London  on  the  sixth  of  June,  1844,  and  on  the 
ninth  of  December,  1851,  the  first  on  this  continent  was 
formed  at  Montreal.  The  Boston  Association  established 
December  29,  1851,  was  the  first  in  the  United  States,  and 
the  following  years  organizations  sprang  up  in  Washington, 
Buffalo,  New  York,  the  latter  organized  June  30,  1852.  For 
several  years  little  correspondence  existed  between  the  dif- 
ferent Associations ;  but  in  1854  the  plan  of  holding  an 
Annual  Convention  for  the  mutual  interchange  of  thought, 
the  gathering  of  statistical  and  other  information,  was  intro- 
duced. This  Convention,  held  in  Buffalo,  recommended  to  the 
Associations  the  formation  of  a  voluntary  confederation  for 
mutual  encouragement,  having  two  agencies  for  carrying  on 
its  work,  viz. :  An  Annual  Convention  and  a  Central  Com- 
mittee, the  functions  of  these  being  only  advisory  or  recom- 


YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION  OF  NEW  YORK.  509 

mendatory.  Sixteen  of  these  National  Conventions  have 
low  been  held,  many  of  which  have  been  large  and  impress- 
ive. The  Association  organized  and  conducted,  during  the 
late  war,  the  Christian  Commission,  whose  toils  and  useful- 
ness cannot  be  too  highly  commended.  There  are  now  in 
the  United  States  seven  hundred  and  seventy-six  associations 
and  sixty-two  in  the  British  Provinces,  with  a  membership  of 
over  one  hundred  thousand.  Twelve  of  these  have  already 
erected  or  purchased  buildings  of  their  own,  and  twenty-one 
more  at  least  are  collecting  funds  to  do  so.  The  Association 
in  New  York  city  was  the  third  organized  in  America,  and  has 
a  membership  at  present  of  over  six  thousand.  The  headquar- 
ters of  the  Association  were  for  several  years  at  No.  161  Fifth 
avenue  ;  and  to  reacli  the  masses  of  young  men  in  the  various 
wards  of  the  city,  four  branches  have  been  formed,  one  of 
which  is  at  Harlem,  one  at  No.  2S5  Hudson  street,  one  at 
No.  473  Grand  street,  and  one  for  colored  men  at  No.  97 
Wooster  street.  Each  branch  is  supplied  with  a  library  free 
to  all  the  members,  with  a  reading-room  supplied  with  the 
principal  magazines  and  papers  or  the  city,  and  with  occa- 
sional lectures  from  distinguished  men.  The  Association 
appoints  several  committees  to  which  the  principal  labor  is 
committed.  It  has  a  committee  on  Invitation,  on  Member- 
ship, on  Employment,  on  Boarding-houses,  on  Visitation  of 
the  Sick,  on  Devotional  Meetings,  on  Choral  Society,  on 
Literary  Society,  and  one  on  Churches.  Young  and  middle- 
aged  men  fYom  all  evangelical  denominations  unite,  forget- 
ting denominational  distinctions,  and  do  annually  a  vast 
amount  of  good.  Hundreds  of  young  men  loitering  in  the 
streets  are  picked  up  and  saved  from  dens  of  dissipation  and 
crime.  Strangers  are  recommended  to  suitable  boarding- 
houses,  introduced  to  members  of  churches  in  their  neigh- 
borhood, and  many  furnished  with  good  situations  in  busi- 
ness. For  several  years  the  Association  contemplated  the 
erection  of  a  suitable  building,  which,  in  addition  to  its  ample 
accommodations,  would  furnish  an  income,  so  greatly  needed 
in  the  prosecution  of  its  work.  An  act  of  incorporation  passed 
the  Legislature  April  3,  1866,  granting  power  to  hold  real 
or  personal  estate  for  the  uses  of  the  corporation,  whose 
annual  rental  value  should  not  exceed  §50,000.  A  plot  of 
land  on  the  south-west  corner  of  Twenty-third  street  and 
Fourth  avenue  was  purchased,  at  a  cost  of  §142,000.  On  the 
13th  of  January,  1868,  ground  was  broken,  and  on  De- 

32 


510 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


cember  2d,  1869,  the  building  was  dedicated,  Drs.  Dewitt, 
Tyng,  Adams,  Hendricks,  Thompson,  Ridgaway,  Messrs. 
Dodge,  Randolph,  General  Howard,  Governor  Hoffman,  and 
Vice-President  Colfax  taking  part  in  the  exercises. 

The  edifice,  which  is  very  attractive,  is  five  stories  high,  with 
a  front  of  eighty-six  feet  nine  inches  on  Fourth  avenue  and 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  on  Twenty-third  street. 
Immense  blocks  of  granite  form  the  base  of  the  walls,  and  as 
they  ascend  Ohio  free  and  New  Jersey  brown  stone,  with  their 
varying  colors,  are  agreeably  interspersed  with  an  occasional 
vermiculated  block.  The  windows,  in  a  variety  of  forms,  ex- 
hibit the  beauty  and  strength  of  the  arch-line,  and  the  polished 
arch i volts  are  richly  ornamented  with  carved  voussoirs.  The 
central  door  is  marked  by  rich  columns  and  surmounted  by 
the  arms  of  the  Association. 

The  roof  is  crowned  with  a  superb  central  and  three  angu- 
lar towers.  The  ground  floor  is  rented  for  stores.  Entering 
on  Twenty-third  street,  ascending  a  flight  of  stairs,  you  pass 
to  the  right  into  the  grand  hall,  capable  of  seating  one 
thousand  five  hundred  persons,  so  perfectly  ventilated  that 
a  crowded  audience  departs,  at  the  close  of  a  lecture,  leav- 
ing the  air  as  pure  as  it  found  it.  The  hall  is  furnished  with 
a  Chickering  piano-forte  aud  a  pipe  organ,  which  cost  $10,000, 
both  of  which  were  purchased  with  the  proceeds  of  a  concert 
held  in  the  hall  on  the  evening  of  the  1st  of  December,  1869. 
To  the  left  of  the  staircase  is  a  pleasant  reception-room,  from 
which  is  an  entrance  into  the  secretary's  room,  the  large 
reading-room,  to  three  committee-rooms,  to  a  wash-room, 
a  bath-room,  to  a  gymnasium,  and  after  descending  two 
flights  of  stairs  to  a  bowling-alley.  Upon  the  next  floor  is 
the  library,  capable  of  containing  twenty  thousand  volumes, 
a  small  lecture-room,  with  seating  for  four  hundred  persons, 
four  smaller  rooms  for  evening  classes  in  penmanship,  draw- 
ing, book-keeping,  the  sciences,  and  the  languages.  The 
upper  6tories  are  rented  to  artists  and  others. 

The  edifice  cost,  exclusive  of  the  site,  §345,000,  on  which 
there  remains  a  debt  of  $150,000,  which  the  managers  hope 
to  remove  with  the  rent  of  the  stores.  Such  an  embodiment 
of  modern  Christianity  is  rarely  seen  in  one  building.  The 
noble  edifice  presents  the  study  of  architecture,  the  first  floor 
exhibits  the  activities  of  business,  while  farther  up  are  found 
painting,  music,  eloquence,  conversation,  reading,  study,  rec- 
reation, and  worship — all  that  can  attract,  expand,  and  ennoble 
the  soul. 


THE  PRISON  ASSOCIATION  OF  NEW  YORK. 


{Bible  House.) 

JPlIE  Prison  Association  of  New  York  was  organized 
|Sj  on  the  evening  of  the  6th  of  December,  1844.  The 
objects  of  this  Association,  as  set  forth  in  its  constitu- 
tion, are:  1.  A  humane  attention  to  persons  arrested 
and  held  for  examination  or  tried,  including  inquiry  into  the 
circumstances  of  their  arrest,  and  the  crimes  charged  against 
them  ;  securing  to  the  friendless  an  impartial  trial  and  protec- 
tion from  the  depredations  of  unprincipled  persons,  whether 
professional  sharpers  or  fellow  prisoners.  2.  Encourage- 
ment and  aid  to  discharged  convicts  in  their  efforts  to  re- 
form and  earn  an  honest  living.  This  is  done  by  assisting 
them  to  situations,  providing  them  tools,  and  otherwise  coun- 
seling and  helping  them  to  business.  3.  To  study  the 
question  of  prison  discipline  generally,  the  government  of 
State,  county,  and  city  prisons,  to  obtain  statistics  of  crime, 
disseminate  information  on  this  subject,  to  evolve  the  true 
principles  of  science,  and  impress  a  more  reformatory  charac- 
ier  on  our  penitentiary  system.  The  Association  was  duly 
incorporated,  with  large  power  for  the  examination  of  all 
prisons  and  jails  in  the  State,  during  the  second  year  of  its 
operations,  and  required  to  report  annually  to  the  Legislature. 
A  female  department  was  organized  the  first  year  (The  Isaac 
T.  Hopper  Home),  which  soon  became  an  independent  society, 
abundant  in  labor  and  ricli  in  results.  Its  history  and  work- 
ings are  elsewhere  traced  in  this  work. 

During  the  twenty-five  years  of  its  operations  closing  with 
1869,  the  Association  visited  in  the  prisons  of  detention  of 
New  York  and  Brooklyn,  93,560  poor  and  friendless  persons, 
many  of  whom  were  counseled  and  assisted  as  their  cases  re- 
quired. 

The  officers  of  the  society  carefully  examined  25,290  com- 
plaints; and  at  their  instance  6,148  complaints  were  with- 
drawn, as  being  of  a  trivial  character,  or  founded  on  mis- 
take, prejudice,  or  passion.  During  the  same  period,  7,922 
persons  were  discharged  by  the  Courts  on  the  recommendation 
of  these  officers  as  young,  innocent,  penitent,  or  having  of- 


512 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


feuded  under  mitigating  circumstances,  making  a  total  of 
133,922  cases,  to  which  relief  in  some  form  had  been  extended. 
During  the  same  period  18,307  discharged  convicts  had  been 
aided  with  board,  clothing,  tools,  railroad  tickets,  or  money  ; 
4,139  of  the  same  class  had  been  provided  with  permanent 
situations,  swelling  the  number  to  156,368. 

But  the  principal  work  of  the  Association  has  been  intel- 
lectual. It  has  again  and  again  examined  every  prison,  peni- 
tentiary, and  jail  throughout  the  State  (numbering  about  one 
hundred  in  all),  and  those  of  the  surrounding  States,  and  of 
the  Canadas,  pointing  out  faithfully  in  its  annual  reports  the 
defective  constructive  of  these  establishments,  the  incompe- 
tency or  barbarity  of  keepers,  the  chief  defects  of  our  prison 
system,  and  lias  sought  industriously  to  educate  public  senti- 
ment and  influence  the  Legislature  toward  a  more  humane, 
rational,  and  reformatory  system  of  prison  administration. 
The  Association  has  conducted  a  valuable  correspondence  with 
enlightened  men  of  the  Old  World,  who  have  made  this  subject 
a  matter  of  special  study,  thus  bringing  together  the  researches 
and  experiments  of  all  countries.  It  has  collected  volumes  of 
statistics  which  no  student  can  afford  to  do  without.  It  in- 
forms us  that  the  sixtj'-eight  county  jails  of  New  York  State 
cost  annually  about  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  dollars  for 
their  maintenance,  of  which  sum  not  five  hundred  dollars  are 
expended  with  any  view  to  meeting  the  religious  wants  of  the 
prisoners.  None  are  supplied  with  libraries  or  facilities  of 
instruction,  and  scarcely  any  have  Bibles,  though  the  statute 
specially  enjoins  it. 

An  earnest  inquiry  has  been  made  by  the  Association  into 
the  sources  of  crime,  and  the  want  of  due  parental  care  and 
government  has  been  found  the  most  prolific  of  all.  To  im- 
prove society,  we  must  practise  upon  the  injunction,  "  Train 
up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go ;  and  when  he  is  old,  he 
will  not  depart  from  it."  Of  the  approximate  causes,  drink 
is  most  potent.  Two-thirds  of  all  prisoners  interrogated  ac- 
knowledged that  they  were  of  intemperate  habits,  and  not 
one  in  a  hundred  had  totally  abstained  from  its  use. 

Next  in  the  scale  comes  lewdness.  Of  six  thousand  women 
committed  to  jail  in  one  year,  over  three-fourths  were  prosti- 
tutes, and  near  half  the  men  prisoners  interrogated  confessed 
that  they  were  frequenters  of  brothels.  Theaters  are  sources 
of  great  evil.  Nearly  fifty  per  cent,  of  all  committed  to  prison 
have  frequented  these  places. 


THE  CITY  PEISONS. 


513 


The  gambling  saloon,  above  all  other  places,  hardens  man's 
moral  nature.  Of  975  prisoners  at  Auburn,  317  were  ac- 
knowledged gamblers,  about  one-third  ;  and  the  same  propor- 
tion was  found  in  the  prisons  of  Connecticut. 

Ignorance  and  vice  are  found  in  sad  conjunction.  In  the 
State  of  ISew  York  but  two  and  seven-tenths  per  cent,  of  the 
general  population  are  unable  to  read ;  but  of  its  criminals 
thirty-one  per  cent,  do  not  possess  that  ability. 

Early  indolence  is  another  source  of  great  evil.  It  has 
been  ascertained  that,  of  the  prisoners  of  the  whole  United 
States,  more  than  four-fifths  have  never  learned  a  trade. 

The  Association  has  contended  nobly  for  the  introduction 
of  skilled  labor  into  our  prisons,  and  the  retention  of  prisoners 
until  they  are  masters  of  their  trades,  thus  furnishing  the 
means  for  honorable  subsistence  after  their  release. 

The  Association  has  ranked  among  its  members  many  of 
the  first  men  of  the  State.  Its  office  is  in  Room  38,  Bible 
House. 


HAILS  OF  JUSTICE  OR  TOMBS,  CTSNTRE  STREET. 

THE  CITY  PRISONS. 

The  tirst  building  used  as  a  jail  on  Manhattan  was  on  the 
corner  of  Dock  street  and  Coenties  slip.  After  the  erection 
of  the  City  Hall  in  Wall  street,  the  criminals  were  confined 
in  dungeons  in  the  cellar,  while  debtors  were  imprisoned  in 
the  attic  apartments.  The  next  prison  erected  was  known  as 
the  "New  Jail,"  called  also  the  "Provost"  (see  page  74), 
from  its  having  been  the  headquarters  and  chief  dungeon  of 
the  infamous  Cunningham,  the  British  provost  marshal  of  the 
Revolution.  It  was  a  strong  stone  building  erected  for  the 
imprisonment  of  debtors,  and  is  now  the  Hall  of  Records. 
The  pillars  which  now  ornament  it  are  of  later  origin.  The 
next  was  the  Bridewell  (see  page  69),  a  cheerless,  graystone 
edifice,  two  stories  high,  with  basement,  a  front  and  rear 
pediment,  which  stood  a  little  west  of  the  present  Citv  Hall. 
It  was  erected  for  the  confinement  of  vagrants,  minor  of- 
fenders, and  criminals  awaiting  trial,  in  1775,  just  in  time  to 
serve  as  a  dungeon  for  the  struggling  patriots  of  the  Revo- 
lution. The  building  wras  scarcely  finished,  the  windows  had 
nothing  but  iron  bars  to  keep  out  the  cold,  yet  in  the  inclement 
season  the  British  thrust  eight  hundred  and  sixteen  Ameri- 
can prisoners,  captured  at  Fort  Washington,  into  this  build- 


THE  CITY  PRISONS. 


515 


ing,  where  they  continued  from  Saturday  to  the  following 
Thursday,  without  drink  or  food.  During  these  perilous  years 
all  the  public  and  many  of  the  private  buildings,  besides  nu- 
merous sugar-houses  and  ships,  were  crowded  with  suffering 
American  prisoners  of  war.  New  York  was  indeed  a  city  of 
prisons.  The  Bridewell  was  finally  demolished,  and  much  of 
the  material  used  in  the  erection  of  the  Tombs  in  1838. 
After  the  establishment  of  independence  a  large  stone  prison 
surrounded  by  a  high  wall  was  erected  on  the  west  side  of  the 
island,  three  miles  above  the  City  Hall,  called  at  that  time 
Greenwich  village.  It  was  ready  for  the  reception  of  convicts 
in  August,  1796,  was  designed  for  criminals  of  the  highest 
grade,  and  was  the  second  State  Prison  in  the  United  States. 
Sing-Sing  prison  was  begun  in  1825  and  completed  in  1831. 
The  New  York  County  Jail,  situated  at  the  corner  of  Ludlow 
street  and  Essex  Market  place,  was  opened  in  June,  1862,  and 
took  the  place  of  the  old  Eldridge  street  jail.  It  is  built  in  the 
form  of  an  L,  ninety  feet  on  each  street,  forty  feet  deep  and 
sixty  feet  high,  leaving  a  yard  of  fifty  feet  square,  surrounded 
by  a  high  wall,  in  which  prisoners  are  allowed  to  exercise. 
The  building  contains  eighty-seven  cells.  Besides  the  above 
there  are  four  other  places  of  involuntary  confinement  on  ft 
Manhattan,  all  of  which  are  under  the  control  of  the  Com- 
missioners of  Charities  and  Corrections,  and  in  each  of  which 
a  Police  Conrt  convenes  every  morning  to  examine  the 
charges  brought  against  persons  arrested.  The  Halls  of  Jus- 
tice, the  principal  buildings  situated  between  Centre,  Elm, 
Leonard,  and  Franklin  streets,  on  the  side  of  the  old  Collect 
Pond,  was  begun  in  1835  and  completed  in  1838.  It  is  a 
two-story  building  constructed  of  Maine  white  granite  in  the 
Egyptian  order,  is  253  by  200  feet,  and  occupies  the  four  sides 
of  a  hollow  square.  The  front  on  Centre  street  is  reached 
by  a  broad  flight  of  granite  steps,  and  the  portico  is  supported 
by  several  massive  Egyptian  columns.  The  windows,  which 
extend  through  both  stories,  have  heavy  iron-grated  frames. 
The  female  department  is  situated  in  the  section  which  ex- 
tends along  Leonard  street,  and  is  presided  over  by  an  amiable 
Christian  matron  who  has  held  her  position  with  great  credit 
for  more  than  twenty  years.  In  the  front  of  the  edifice  are 
rooms  for  the  Court  of  Sessions,  the  Police  Court,  etc.,  which 
have  given  it  its  name,  "  Halls  of  Justice/*'*  In  the  centre  of 
the  enclosed  yard,  distinct  from  the  other  buildings,  stands 
the  men's  prison,  152  by  45  feet,  containing  148  cells.  State 


516 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


criminals  have  been  executed  in  the  open  court.  The  prison 
stands  on  low,  damp  ground  in  the  vicinity  of  a  poor  and 
riotous  neighborhood,  is  poorly  ventilated,  was  never  calcu- 
lated to  well  accommodate  over  two  hundred  prisoners,  yet, 
the  annual  average  is  nearly  four  hundred,  and  often  greatly 
exceeds  that  number.  It  has  lately  been  condemned  by  the 
grand  jury  of  the  county  as  a  nuisance,  and  as  the  Commis- 
sioners have  repeatedly  recommended  the  building  of  a  large 
and  well-arranged  prison  in  a  more  suitable  locality,  it  is  not 
likely  that  the  frowning,  dingy  "  Tombs  "  will  long  continue 
in  the  city.  The  building  as  it  appeared  some  thirty  years 
ago  contained  a  high  tower  which  was  destroyed  by  fire  on  the 
day  appointed  for  the  execution  of  Colt,  and  is  believed  to 
have  been  a  part  of  the  unsuccessful  plan  for  his  escape.  The 
next  largest  is  the  Jefferson  Market  "prison,  situated  at  the 
corner  of  Greenwich  avenue  and  Tenth  street.  Its  exterior 
is  of  brick,  and  contains  besides  its  court-rooms  twenty-five 
large  cells,  a  single  one  of  which  sometimes  contains  ten  or 
twenty  drunken  men.  The  daily  commitments  here  amount 
to  from  thirty-five  to  fifty,  and  in  seasons  of  general  disorder 
many  more.  Adjoining  the  prison  stands  engine  house  No. 
11  of  the  old  fire  department,  which  has  been  arranged  for 
the  female  prison.  This  prison  is  kept  remarkably  clean,  not- 
withstanding the  masses  of  seething  corruption  huddled  to- 
gether in  it  day  and  night  through  all  the  year.  The  cells 
are  well  warmed  but  not  furnished  with  beds,  as  the  prisoners 
are  usually  detained  here  but  one  night,  and  never  but  a  few 
days.  Many  of  them  are  so  filthy  and  so  covered  with  vermin, 
that  beds  cannot  be  kept  in  a  proper  condition.  The  third 
district  prison  is  known  as  the  Essex  Market,  situated  at  69 
Essex  street,  and  is  a  little  smaller  than  the  one  just  described. 
The  fourth  is  situated  at  Fifty-seventh  street  and  Lexington 
avenue ;  the  cells,  capable  of  holding  about  forty  prisoners, 
are  in  the  basement  under  the  Court-house.  Small  as  these 
prisons  are,  no  less  than  51,466  persons  were  detained  in  them 
during  1871.  All  classes  are  seen  here,  from  the  ignorant 
imbruted  bully  to  the  expert  and  polished  villain.  Some  are 
abashed  and  sit  weeping  over  their  folly;  others  are  reticent 
and  collected.  The  visitor  is  often  surprised  to  learn  that 
that  handsome  female  leaning  over  the  banister,  clad  in  rich 
silks,  with  gold  chain,  pin,  and  bracelets,  is  a  prisoner  ar- 
rested for  disorderly  conduct. 

The  business  at  the  Police  Courts,  and  also  at  the  Court 


Northern  dispensary. 

Wuverhj  Place  corner  of  Christopher  Sh-eet. 


EASTERN  DISPENSARY. 

Jfo.  57  Essex  Street. 


DEMILT  DIRPENPARY. 

Corner  of  Second  Avenue  and  East  Twenty-  Third  Street. 


THE  CITY  PRISONS. 


517 


of  Sessions,  is  dispatched  with  wonderful  rapidity.  At  the 
former  the  Justice  hears  the  charge  of  the  officer,  the  expla- 
nation of  the  prisoner,  and  decides  without  counsel  or  jury 
whether  he  shall  be  discharged,  fined,  or  detained  for  trial  at 
the  Court  of  Sessions.  The  vast  majority  of  all  arrested  are 
discharged  after  spending  a  night  in  the  station-house.  The 
Court  of  Sessions  convenes  every  Tuesday  and  Saturday  for 
the  trial  of  all  cases  involving  doubt,  argument,  or  proof. 
This  is  strictly  a  criminal  court,  and  the  prisoner  is  allowed 
to  introduce  counsel  and  witnesses.  A  visitor  from  the 
country  where  a  criminal  suit  consumes  from  three  to  ten 
days  takes  hi£  seat  in  the  court-room  and  is  surprised  to  see 
six  or  ten  cases  disposed  of  in  thirty  minutes. 

The  names  of  Mrs.  Blake  and  Bridget  are  called. 

Bridget  has  been  the  servant  of  Mrs.  B.,  who  has  caused  her 
arrest  for  stealing  money  from  the  drawer.  Mrs.  B.  takes 
the  witness  stand,  makes  her  full  statement  to  the  Judge, 
answers  all  his  questions  as  to  how  she  knew  Bridget  took 
the  money,  when  she  caused  her  arrest,  &c.  The  policeman 
is  next  called,  who  states  that  he  arrested  her  and  found  the 
money.  Bridget,  who  has  been  leaning  on  the  iron  railing 
which  cuts  off  the  prisoners'  space  from  the  main  court-room, 
is  now  called  upon.  She  has  no  counsel,  but  wishes  Mrs.  R. 
to  speak  in  her  behalf.  The  lady  is  heard — states  that  Bridget 
lived  several  years  in  her  house,  and  was  never  known  to 
6teal.  The  Judge  recalls  Mrs.  Blake  and  inquires  hurriedly, 
u  Has  she  ever  stolen  anything  of  you  before  ?  "  On  being 
told  that  she  has  not,  he  turns  to  Bridget  and  says,  "  The 
Court  suspends  judgment  as  this  is  the  first  offence,  but  if 
you  ever  come  here  again  I  shall  send  you  to  Blackwell's 
Island."  Two  men  are  arraigned  for  striking  a  policeman 
who  arrested  them  in  a  drunken  row,  swinging  a  loaded 
revolver.  The  officer  gives  his  testimony,  after  which  he  is 
thoroughly  sifted  by  the  counsel  of  the  prisoners,  who  tries  in 
vain  to  entangle  and  embarrass  him.  Next,  come  witnesses 
for  the  prisoners  (old  cronies),  who  drank  freely  with  them  on 
the  occasion  referred  to,  but  who  know  they  were  not  drunk 
or  disorderly — that  the  pistol  fell  out  of  his  pocket,  and  that 
the  officer  was  wholly  to  blame.  The  officer  is  recalled,  and 
reaffirms  what  he  has  said.  "  Have  you  no  witnesses  to 
sustain  you  ? "  says  the  Judge.  The  officer  had  not  supposed  it 
necessary  to  bring  any.  The  Judge  wrings  about  on  his  chair, 
runs  his  fingers  through  his  whiskers  and  says,  "  The  law 


618 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


forbids  disorderly  persons  carrying  loaded  fire-arms;  I  fine 
them  ten  dollars  each."  Two  colored  men  next  respond  to  the 
call.  The  one  npon  the  stand  is  about  forty-five,  and  deposes 
that  he  lost  a  watch  worth  twenty-five  dollars,  and  that  the 
prisoner  leaning  on  the  rail  took  it.  The  prisoner  is  a  plump, 
well-formed  youth  of  twenty-two,  who  meanwhile  rolls  up 
his  eyes  and  sweeps  the  entire  audience  of  the  court-room. 
"Did  you  cause  his  immediate  arrest?"  inquires  the  Judge. 
"  Yes,  sir."  "  Did  you  find  the  watch  ?."  "  I  did."  "  Who 
arrested  him?"  "  Officer  Cone."  The  officer  is  called,  and 
details  in  few  words  the  arrest,  search  and  the  recovery  of 
the  lost  property.  The  Judge  turns  to  the  prisoner  and 
inquires,  "  Ilave  you  counsel  ?  "  "  Yes,  sir."  "  Who  is  he  ?  " 
A  name  is  given.  "  lie  is  not  here,"  says  the  Judge ;  "  I 
sentence  you  to  the  Penitentiary  for  six  months."  In  this 
way  the  business  goes  on  for  hours;  With  all  this  dispatch 
the  truth  is  generally  reached,  and  the  principal  errors  are  on 
the  side  of  mercy,  dismissing  far  too  many  to  satisfy  justice 
or  answer  the  ends  of  good  government. 

Religious  services  of  some  kind  are  held  in  the  Tombs 
on  every  day  of  the  week  except  Saturday. 

Sunday  morning  and  Tuesday  forenoon  are  set  apart  for 
the  Catholics,  while  Sunday  afternoon  and  Tuesday  afternoon 
are  devoted  to  the  Episcopalians.  Monday  is  reserved  for 
the  Methodists  if  they  choose  to  employ  it,  Wednesday, 
Thursday  and  Friday  being  devoted  to  various  Protestant 
Societies  who  send  male  and  female  representatives  to  read 
the  Scriptures,  exhort  and  pray  with  the  prisoners.  We 
have  been  explicit  in  this  statement  because  it  has  been  asserted 
that  only  Catholics  had  free  access  and  full  conveniences  for 
conducting  worship  in  this  prison.  A  vast  amount  of  mission- 
ary labor  is  expended  here  annually  by  members  of'  all 
denominations.  These  pious  endeavors  are  often  crowned 
with  excellent  results,  and  though  the  seed  often  falls  upon 
a  barren  soil,  the  faithful  sower  shall  not  lose  his  reward. 


North-western  Dispensary. 


{Ninth  avenue  corner  West  Thirty-sixth  street. ) 
THE  NEW  YORK  MEDICAL  DISPENSARIES. 

-  Perhaps  no  enterprise  for  the  amelioration  of  the  condition 
of  the  suffering  poor  of  the  city  of  New  York  has  been  more 
widely  patronized,  or  accomplished  more  for  the  physical  re- 
lief of  the  last  three  generations,  than  the  dispensary  system. 

On  the  fourteenth  day  of  October,  1790,  at  a  meeting  of 
the  "  Medical  Society  of  the  city  of  New  York,"  it  wTas  re- 
solved, "  That  a  Committee  be  appointed  to  digest  and  publish 
a  plan  of  a  Dispensary  for  the  medical  relief  of  the  sick  poor 
of  this  city,  and  to  make  an  offer  of  the  professional  services 
of  the  members  of  this  society  to  carry  it  into  effect."  Ur- 
gent and  eloquent  appeals  were  soon  made  to  the  public 
through  the  several  daily  papers,  and  on  the  4th  of  January, 
1791,  a  meeting  of  benevolent  citizens  convened  in  the  City 
Hall  in  Wall  street,  where  a  constitution  and  the  necessary 
by-laws  were  adopted.  Hon.  Isaac  Roosevelt  was  chosen 
President,  and  Drs.  Bayley  and  Bard  senior  physicians.  The 
New  York  Dispensary  was  first  established  in  Tryon  street, 
now  Tryon  row,  where  it  continued  in  a  single  room  thirty- 

33 


520 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


eight  years.  The  first  annual  report  declared  that  310  patients 
had  been  treated  during  the  year,  contrasting  strangely  with 
the  report  of  1871,  which  announces  that  38,770  had  received 
treatment  during  the  last  year,  and  about  79,000  prescriptions 
made.  It  is  also  worthy  of  note  that  the  first  was  made  when 
but  one  dispensary  existed  on  the  island,  the  last  when  over 
twenty  of  various  kinds  are  engaged  in  a  similar  work.  The 
act  incorporating  the  New  York  Dispensary  passed  the  Legis- 
lature April  8th,  1795,  and  in  1805  a  union  was  effected  be- 
tween the  Dispensary  and  the  Kine-pock  Institution,  which 
had  been  established  three  years  previously  in  the  rear  of  the 
brick  church  opposite  the  Park.  The  number  of  patients  an- 
nually increased,  amounting  in  1828  to  10,000.  Efforts  were 
then  made  to  secure  better  accommodations,  the  authorities 
contributed  a  lot  of  land  on  the  corner  of  Centre  and  White 
streets,  a  three-story  brick  edifice  was  erected  and  made  ready 
for  occupation  on  the  28th  of  December,  1829.  The  building 
and  furniture  cost  a  trifle  more  than  eight  thousand  dollars. 
During  the  last  four  years  the  old  edifice  has  been  removed 
and  a  new  and  beautiful  building  erected  in  its  place,  cover- 
ing the  entire  site  and  costing  $72,488.  The  lower  floor  is 
divided  into  stores  and  rented ;  the  second  is  the  Dispensary, 
with  very  commodious  apartments ;  the  two  upper  floors  are 
also  rented  for  business  uses.  This  large  outlay  has  been 
partially  met  with  generous  donations  from  the  trustees  and 
friends  of  the  enterprise ;  a  mortgage  of  $20,000,  however, 
still  remains  on  the  property.  The  last  Legislature  granted 
the  Institution  $10,000.  This  Dispensary  grants  medicine 
and  the  attention  of  its  physicians  to  the  suffering  poor  of  the 
First,  Second,  Third,  and  Fourth  Wards  without  charge.  It 
occupies  that  section  of  the  city  where  the  most  of  its  busi- 
ness is  transacted,  where  large  fortunes  are  made,  but  where 
few  besides  the  poor  tarry  over  night.  These,  however,  are 
herded  together  in  vast  numbers,  affording  an  abundant  harvest 
for  cholera,  small-pox,  ship-fever,  yellow-fever,  etc.  Without 
the  New  York  Dispensary  this  crowded  section  would  often 
be  turned  into  a  carnival  of  suffering,  endangering  the  lives 
of  the  whole  population.  Since  its  organization  in  1790  it  has 
treated  1,463,747  patients. 

The  Northern  Dispensary  was  the  second  on  the  island, 
organized  in  1827.  It  is  situated  on  the  corner  of  Chris- 
topher street  and  Waverley  place. 

In  1834  the  Eastern  Dispensary  was  organized.    This  fur- 


THE  NEW  YORK  MEDICAL  DISPENSARIES.  521 


nishes  medicine,  medical  and  surgical  services  gratuitously  to 
the  sick  poor  of  that  section  of  the  city  bounded  by  Pike 
street  and  Allen,  First  avenue,  and  Fourteenth  street,  to  the 
East  river.  This  Dispensary  during  the  first  thirty-five  and 
one-half  years  of  its  existence  has  administered  to  768,828 
patients,  an  annual  average  of  over  twenty-one  thousand. 
Of  this  number  352,267  were  native  Americans,  the  remain- 
ing 416,561  were  born  in  foreign  lands.  The  average  cost 
of  each  patient  to  the  society  has  been  14J  cents.  The  Dis- 
pensary is  situated  over  the  Essex  Market.  The  trustees 
own  no  building,  but  now  contemplate  the  erection  of  one. 

The  Demilt  Dispensary  was  organized  in  1851.  In 
1852-53  the  trustees  erected  a  fine  three-story  building  on  the 
corner  of  Second  avenue  and  Twenty-third  street,  at  a  cost 
of  $30,000  including  the  site.    This  property  has  with  the 

frowth  of  the  city  doubled  in  value,  and  is  free  from  debt, 
'he  territory  assigned  to  this  Dispensary  is  comprised  in  the 
Eighteenth  and  Twenty-first  Wards,  or  that  portion  lying 
east  of  Sixth  avenue  between  Fourteenth  and  Fortieth 
streets.  The  population  of  this  district  in  1850  was  31,557, 
in  1860  it  amounted  to  106,489,  and  in  1870  to  111,638. 
During  these  twenty  years  it  has  treated  464,596  patients, 
over  eighty-five  thousand  of  whom  have  been  treated  by  the 
physicians  at  their  homes,  and  899,075  prescriptions  have 
been  dispensed,  an  average  of  125  per  day. 

The  North-eastern  Dispensary  was  incorporated  in  1862. 
It  ministers  to  the  sick  poor  residing  between  Fortieth  and 
Sixtieth  streets,  and  between  Sixth  avenue  and  the  East  river. 
During  1870, 13,309  persons  received  gratuitous  treatment  at 
the  Dispensary,  and  3,101  patients  were  treated  at  their  dwell- 
ings.   Eighteen  physicians  constitute  the  medical  staff. 

The  North-eastern  Homoeopathic  Dispensary  was  founded 
in  1868.  It  is  situated  at  307  East  Fifty-fifth  street,  in  hired 
buildings,  and  has  treated  since  its  opening  over  forty  thou- 
sand patients,  and  made  over  eighty-five  thousand  prescrip- 
tions, and  two  thousand  visits. 

The  North-western  was  incorporated  in  1852,  and  began 
in  hired  rooms  at  No.  511  Eighth  avenue.  It  is  designed 
to  bless  the  sick  and  suffering  poor  in  that  large  district 
lying  west  of  Fifth  avenue,  between  Twenty-third  and 
Eighty-sixth  streets.  No  funds  for  the  permanent  estab- 
lishment of  the  Institution  were  raised  until  1866,  when 
a  subscription  was  started  which  secured  during  the  next 


522 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


two  years  about  nineteen  thousand  dollars,  to  which  the 
Corporation  added  the  sum  of  $15,000.  A  piece  of  land 
purchased  on  Broadway  was  again  sold  at  a  proht  of  $10,000. 
The  trustees  have  now  completed  one  of  the  finest  Dispensary 
buildings  on  the  island,  at  a  cost  of  $83,000,  an  indebtedness 
of  over  thirty  thousand  dollars  still  remaining  on  the  prop- 
erty. Besides  affording  very  ample  and  commodious  apart- 
ments for  the  use  of  the  Institution  itself,  it  contains  a  large 
store,  and  a  beautiful  hall  rented  for  divine  service.  When  this 
indebtedness  is  removed  it  is  believed  the  income  from  the 
building  will  render  the  Dispensary  nearly  self-sustaining. 
The  number  of  patients  treated  varies  from  10,000  to  15,000 
per  annum. 

Besides  these  there  are  also  various  other  Dispensaries  es- 
tablished for  the  treatment  of  special  diseases,  as  the  New 
York  Dispensary  for  the  Treatment  of  Cancer,  the  New 
York  Dispensary  for  Diseases  of  Throat  and  Chest,  the 
New  York  Dispensary  for  Diseases  of  Skin,  and  others. 

Most  of  these  Institutions  receive  $1,000  per  annum  from 
the  Corporation,  to  which  the  State  sometimes  adds  an  addi- 
tional thousand  or  more  as  they  may  need.  Aside  from  this 
they  are  supported  by  private  donations.  The  amount  of 
good  resulting  to  the  city  and  country  from  the  kindly  treat- 
ment administered  to  these  200,000  patients,  who  annually 
apply  to  these  well-arranged  Institutions  of  mercy,  is  incalcu- 
lable. The  results  from  the  system  of  free  vaccination  alone, 
are  ample  for  all  the  expenses  of  the  entire  undertaking. 
This  charity  of  all  others  is  least  liable  to  abuse,  and  is  annu- 
ally attended  with  great  and  manifest  advantages  to  our 
whole  population. 


CHAPTER  VL 


INSTITUTIONS  OF  BLACKWELL'S  ISLAND. 


THE  ISLANDS  AND  THE  AUTHORITIES. 

{Office  of  Commissioners  of  Charities  and  Corrections,  corner  Eleventh  street 
and  Third  avenue.— See  cut  above. ) 

Before  entering  into  a  detailed  account  of  the  institutions 
located  in  the  East  river,  let  us  pause  and  consider  briefly  the 
history  of  the  Islands  themselves  and  the  policy  of  those  who 
control  them.  One  cannot  contemplate  without  feelings  ot 
hio-h  satisfaction  the  extensive  municipal  charities  of  the  city  ot 
New  York.  In  their  origin  they  were  few  and  meager,  dating 
far  back  when  the  city  was  small,  and  the  public  mind  but 


524 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


poorly  enlightened  on  questions  of  this  kind.  The  little  hovels 
and  shanties  of  the  past  have  all  been  superseded  by  colossal 
brick  and  stone  structures,  containing  all  the  modern  improve- 
ments of  the  age,  with  every  known  convenience  for  the 
relief  of  the  indigent  of  all  ages,  the  blind,  the  afflicted,  the 
insane,  the  inebriate,  and  for  the  correction  of  the  criminal. 
Our  public  charities,  which  once  consisted  of  a  little  Alms- 
house, have  now  multiplied  until  more  than  thirty  buildings, 
many  of  them  the  largest  of  their  kind  in  the  country,  have 
been  brought  into  requisition.  The  penal  and  correctional  in- 
stitutions, though  they  have  not  kept  pace  with  the  charitable, 
have  also  been  greatly  enlarged,  and  are  now  valued  at 
nearly  $3,000,000.  The  charitable  institutions,  with  their 
grounds  and  furniture  are  valued  at  $5,500,000,  and  the 
annual  expenditures  in  the  maintenance  of  these  buildings, 
with  an  annual  register  of  92,000,  and  an  average  population 
of  eight  thousand,  and  the  necessary  expenditures  in  new 
buildings  and  grounds,  amounts  to  $2,000,000. 

The  great  increase  of  our  population,  and  the  consequent 
enlargement  of  our  municipal  institutions  have  necessitated 
the  outlay  of  large  sums  in  securing  real  estate,  and  the 
selections  for  the  most  part  have  been  very  judiciously  made. 
Those  beautiful  islands  of  the  East  river,  in  particular,  sepa- 
rated on  either  side  from  the  great  world  by  a  deep  crystal 
current,  appear  to  have  been  divinely  arranged  as  a  home  for 
the  unfortunate  and  the  suffering,  and  a  place  of  quiet  re- 
formatory meditation  for  the  vicious.  A  brief  sketch  of 
these  islands  will  not  be  out  of  place  in  this  volume. 

Blackwell's  Island  is  a  narrow  strip  of  land  in  the  East 
river,  extending  from  Fifty-first  to  Eighty-eighth  streets, 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  in  length,  and  contains  one  hundred 
and  twenty  acres.  It  was  early  patented  to  Governor  Van 
Twiller,  and  was  subsequently  owned  by  the  Blackwell 
family,  from  whom  it  derives  its  name,  for  more  than  a 
hundred  years.  The  ancestral  residence,  a  cozy  wood  cot- 
tage over  a  hundred  years  old,  situated  near  the  centre  of 
the  island,  is  still  in  fine  repair,  and  likely  to  long  survive  the 
present  generation.  This  island  was  purchased  by  the  city 
July  19,  1828,  for  the  sum  of  $30,000,  but  the  authorities 
were  compelled  in  1843  to  expend  $20,000  more  to  perfect 
the  title.  The  little  steamers  owned  by  the  Commissioners, 
making  several  trips  per  day  in  the  interest  of  mercy  and 
justice,  are  the  only  vessels  allowed  to  land  at  her  piers  with- 


INSTITUTIONS  OF  BLACKWELl's  ISLAND. 


525 


out  special  permit.  The  labor  of  docking,  building  sea  wall, 
and  the  admirable  grading  by  which  the  island  is  made  to 
slope  gradually  on  either  side  to  the  water  brink,  has  all  been 
performed  by  inmates  of  the  Penitentiary  and  Workhouse. 
The  island  is  now  valued  at  $600,000  exclusive  of  buildings. 

Ward's  Island,  situated  immediately  above  the  preced- 
ing, takes  its  name  from  Jasper  and  Bartholomew  Ward,  its 
former  proprietors,  and  extends  from  One  Hundred  and  First 
to  One  Hundred  and  Fifteenth  streets,  containing  about  two 
hundred  acres.  It  was  formerly  known  as  "  Great  Barcut," 
or  "  Great  Barn "  Island,  and  was  termed  by  the  Indian 
"Ten-ken-as."  It  was  purchased  by  Van  Twiller  in  1637, 
confiscated  in  1664,  and  granted  to  Thomas  Delavel.  The 
Wards  obtained  it  in  1806,  and  in  December,  1847,  a  part  of 
it  was  leased  (afterwards  purchased)  by  the  Commissioners  of 
Emigration  for  the  establishment  of  the  Emigrant  Refuge 
and  Hospital.  Over  half  of  the  island  is  now  owned  by 
these  Commissioners.  The  Commissioners  of  Charities  and 
Corrections  purchased  a  portion  of  it  June  18, 1852,  and  have 
since  made  several  additional  purchases.  The  Potter's  Field, 
the  place  of  interment  for  paupers  and  strangers,  was  for 
some  years  located  here,  but  has  recently  been  removed  to 
Hart  Island.  Ward's  Island  is  wider  than  Blackwell's,  and 
the  soil  more  arable.  The  portion  of  this  island  owned  by 
the  Commissioners  of  Charities  and  Corrections  is  valued  at 
$360,000. 

Randall's  Island  takes  its  name  from  Jonathan  Randall, 
who  purchased  it  in  1784,  and  resided  upon  it  nearly  fifty 
years.  It  lies  north  of  Ward's  Island,  and  extends  nearly  to 
Westchester  county.  It  was  formerly  known  as  "Little 
Barn"  Island.  This  island  was  also  patented  under  the 
Dutch  Government,  and,  like  Ward's,  was  confiscated  in  1664, 
and  also  granted  to  Thomas  Delavel.  It  was  subsequently  at 
different  periods  denominated  "  Bell  Isle,"  "  Talbot's  Island," 
and  "  Montressor's  Island."  It  was  purchased  by  the  city  in 
1835  for  $50,000.  Thirty  acres  of  the  southern  portion  have 
since  been  sold  to  the  Society  for  the  Reformation  of  Juvenile 
Delinquents.  Besides  furnishing  ample  grounds  for  the 
numerous  Nursery  buildings  it  contains  a  large  and  pro- 
ductive farm,  cultivated  by  the  Commissioners  of  Charities 
and  Corrections,  furnishing  large  amounts  of  vegetables  for 
the  institutions.  Their  portion  of  the  island  is  valued  at 
$520,000. 


526 


NEW  YORK  aND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


Hart  Island  is  situated  in  the  town  of  Pelham,  "Westches- 
ter county,  in  Long  Island  Sound,  about  fourteen  miles  from 
Bellevue.  This  island  became  the  property  of  Oliver  Delan- 
cey  in  1775,  who  sold  it  to  Samuel  Rodman  for  £550.  In 
1819,  it  was  deeded  to  John  Hunter,  who  died  September  12, 
1852.  After  his  decease  his  heirs  deeded  it  to  John  Hunter 
jr.,  grandson  of  the  preceding,  July  10,  1866.  The  United 
States  Government  leased  it  for  army  uses  December  5, 1863, 
for  one  year,  for  the  sum  of  §500,  with  privilege  of  retaining 
it  five  or  less  years  longer  at  an  increased  rent,  the  buildings 
erected  by  government  to  remain  the  property  of  the  lessor. 
A  village  of  one-story  wood  buildings,  for  the  accommodation 
of  troops,  was  soon  erected,  spreading  over  the  principal  parts 
of  the  island.  Under  authority  of  an  act  of  Legislature  passed 
April  11,  1868,  authorizing  "  additional  facilities  for  the  in- 
terment of  the  pauper  dead  in  the  city  of  New  York,"  the 
Commissioners  of  Charities  and  Corrections  on  May  16, 1868, 
purchased  all  except  three  acres  of  the  southern  point  (which 
the  owner  hopes  to  sell  to  the  United  States  for  the  erection 
of  a  light-house),  for  the  sum  of  §75,000.  The  island  is  esti- 
mated to  contain  about  one  hundred  acres,  but  is  suffering 
constant  loss  from  the  action  of  the  tides.  It  is  probable 
that  the  Penitentiary  will  be  removed  to  this  island  in  a  few 
years  at  most. 

The  management  of  the  municipal  charities  and  correc- 
tions of  Manhattan  was  for  years  committed  to  five  Commis- 
sioners appointed  by  the  Common  Council.  In  1845,  the 
svhole  was  placed  under  the  charge  of  one  Commissioner ;  in 
1849  the  number  was  increased  to  ten ;  and  in  1859  the 
number  was  again  changed  to  four,  to  be  half  Democrats 
and  half  Republicans,  appointed  for  the  term  of  six  years  by 
the  city  Controller.  The  new  charter  of  1873  reduces  the 
number  to  three,  to  be  nominated  by  the  Mayor  for  the  term 
of  six  years,  abolishing  the  equal  political  representation. 

The  present  board  is  composed  of  intellectual,  high-minded 
gentlemen,  representing  both  political  parties,  as  well  as  the 
Protestant  and  the  Roman  Catholic  faith.  Their  annual  re- 
port now  amounts  to  an  octavo  volume  of  five  hundred  or  six 
hundred  pages,  and.  one  cannot  examine  one  of  these  without 
perceiving  that  our  municipal  institutions  are  managed  with 
great  discretion  and  skill.  Those  great  problems  which  have 
puzzled  the  humane  and  thoughtful  in  all  ages  such  as  the  best 
moral  treatment  for  the  insane,  the  relief  and  elevation  of 


INSTITUTIONS  OF  BLACKWELl's  ISLAND. 


527 


the  indigent,  the  reformatory  discipline  of  criminals,  the  re- 
covery of  vagrant  and  truant  youth,  the  measures  for  secur- 
ing the  lowest  bill  of  mortality  among  foundlings,  the  refor- 
mation of  the  inebriate,  and  the  best  hygienic  and  economic 
conduct  of  public  institutions,  are  made  matters  of  constant 
study,  resulting  in  frequent  and  manifest  improvements.  As 
might  be  expected,  visitors  in  large  numbers  throng  the  insti- 
tutions, but  all  are  treated  with  decided  urbanity.  Many  of 
the  Superintendents,  Wardens,  and  Chiefs  of  Departments, 
have  retained  their  positions  many  years,  a  few  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  and  to  whose  intelligence  and  kindness 
we  cheerfully  acknowledge  our  indebtedness  for  many  facts 
presented  in  this  volume. 

A  Protestant  and  a  Roman  Catholic  chaplain  give  daily 
attention  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  inmates  of  these  build- 
ings, holding  brief  and  earnest  services  in  each  every  Sabbath. 
Missionaries  from  any  and  all  of  the  denominations  are 
granted  every  reasonable  opportunity  to  carry  the  messages 
of  the  gospel  to  those  receiving  either  corrections  or  charities. 
In  conclusion,  we  can  but  feel  that  our  municipal  institutions, 
are  a  credit  and  an  ornament  to  the  great  city  which  fills 
and  supports  them. 


THE  HOSPITALS  OF  BLACKWELL'S  ISLAND. 


*-*SCELLEVtJE  was  for  some  years  the  only  hospital  under 
**0M.  the  management  of  the  public  authorities  of  New 
Jf§§£  York  City.  After  the  erection  of  the  Penitentiary, 
one  of  its  rooms  was  set  apart  for  a  hospital.  In  1848, 
during  the  administration  of  Moses  G.  Leonard,  Commissioner 
of  the  Almshouse,  at  that  time  acting  under  the  Common 
Council  of  the  City,  the  first  hospital  building  was  erected 
on  the  Island  called  the  "  Penitentiary  Hospital/'  The  build- 
ing was  of  brick,  and  was  completed  in  1849,  the  same  year 
that  the  "  Ten  Governor  "  system  came  into  existence.  The 
name  was  changed  to  the  "  Island  Hospital "  by  resolution  of 
the  Governors  I)ecember  15th,  1857.  The  Governors  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  examine  the  building  soon  after  its 


528 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


completion,  who  reported  that  they  found  it  "  constructed  in 
a  most  reckless  and  careless  manner,  and  was  as  a  public 
building  a  reproach  to  any  city."  It  was  pronounced  inse- 
cure, and  the  Governors  were  about  to  pull  it  down,  when  it 
was  accidentally  destroyed  by  fire  on  the  morning  of  February 
13,  1858.  At  the  time  of  the  disaster,  it  contained  530  in- 
mates, who  were  all  removed  without  loss  of  life.  It  is 
believed  that  it  would  soon  have  fallen  down  if  it  had  not 
been  thus  destroyed. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  Charity  Hospital,  erected  on  the 
site  of  the  one  so  happily  destroyed,  was  laid  with  appropri- 
ate services  July  22,  1858.  An  address  was  delivered  on  the 
occasion  by  Washington  Smith,  Esq.,  President  of  the  board 
of  Governors. 

This  magnificent  structure  is  of  stone  quarried  from  the 
island  by  the  convicts,  and  is  the  largest  hospital  about  New 
York,  and  probably  the  largest  on  the  continent.  It  is  a 
three  and  a  half  story,  354  feet  long,  and  122  wide.  The 
two  wings  are  each  122  by  50  feet,  and  the  central  building 
90  by  52,  and  60  feet  high.  The  entire  hospital  is  divided 
into  twenty-nine  wards,  most  of  which  are  47-J-  feet  in  length, 
and  ranging  from  23  to  44  feet  in  width.  The  smallest  ward 
contains  13  beds,  and  the  largest  39.  The  Hospital  contains 
832  beds,  but  has  capacity  for  1,200,  and  each  bed  has  813 
cubic  feet  of  space,  affording  an  abundance  of  pure  air  in  all 
its  parts.  In  1864  no  less  than  1,400,  most  of  them  sick  and 
wounded  soldiers,  were  domiciled  here.  The  eastern  wing  of 
the  building  is  occupied  by  the  males,  and  the  western  by  the 
females,  and  the  whole  so  classified  as  to  accommodate  to  the 
best  advantage  the  large  number  of  patients  always  under 
treatment.  Wards  are  set  apart  for  consumptives,  for  vene- 
real, uterine,  dropsical,  ophthalmic,  obstetrical,  and  syphil- 
itic disorders.  Also  for  broken  bones,  and  the  other  classes 
of  casualty  patients.  Two  wards  are  set  apart  for  the  treat- 
ment of  diseases  of  the  e}re  and  the  ear,  and  are  in  charge  of 
distinguished  physicians,  who  have  made  the  diseases  of  those 
organs  their  special  study.  The  stairways  are  of  iron,  the 
floors  of  white  Southern  pine,  which,  with  their  frequent 
ablutions  and  scourings,  and  the  snow-white  counterpane 
spread  over  each  bed,  gives  such  unmistakable  evidence  of 
neatness,  as  to  quite  surprise  many  not  familiar  with  the  con- 
duct of  public  institutions.  From  six  thousand  to  eight  thou- 
sand patients  are  annually  treated  in  this  Hospital,  most  of 


THE  HOSPITALS  OF  BLACKWELL's  ISLAND. 


529 


whom  are  charity  patients,  four  hundred  or  five  hundred  of 
whom  die,  and  most  of  the  remainder  are  discharged,  cured 
or  relieved.  ^ 


SMALL-POX  HOSPITAL. 

A  short  distance  below  this  main  Hospital,  situated  on  the 
extreme  southern  point  of  the  island,  stands  the  Small-Pox 
-  Hospital,  erected  in  1854.  It  is  a  three-story  stone  edi- 
fice, 104  by  44  feet,  in  the  English  Gothic  order,  with  accom- 
modations for  one  hundred  patients,  and  cost  $38,000.  This 
is  the  only  hospital  in  New  York  devoted  to  this  class  of 
patients,  and  hence  receives  them  from  all  the  public  and 
private  hospitals,  from  the  Commissioners  of  Emigration,  and 
from  private  families.  It  is  a  fine  building,  well  arranged 
and  admirably  conducted,  designed  not  only  for  paupers,  but 
for  pay  patients,  where,  secluded  from  friends  to  whom  they 
might  impart  their  disease,  they  receive  every  attention  that 
science  and  the  most  skillful  nursing  can  bestow.  This  Hos- 
pital is  rarely  empty,  and  receives  from  two  hundred  to  one 
thousand  patients  annually.  For  want  of  suitable  buildings 
persons  afflicted  with  other  contagious  eruptive  diseases  have 
been  from  necessity  placed  in  the  Small-Pox  Hospital,  some- 
times to  their  detriment,  This  difficulty  is  being  obviated  by 
the  erection  of  separate  pavilions  for  such  cases. 

The  Fever  Hospitals,  devoted  principally  to  the  treatment 
of  typhus  and  ship  fever,  consist  of  two  wooden  pavilions, 


530 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


each  100  feet  in  length,  one  of  which  is  assigned  to  either 
sex.  These  structures  are  capable  of  accommodating  about 
one  hundred  patients,  though  a  larger  number  is  of  necessity 
at  times  admitted.  They  are  situated  on  the  eastern  side  of 
the  Island,  between  the  Charity  and  Small-Pox  Hospitals.  A 
warden  has  the  general  supervision  of  these  several  hospitals. 
The  medical  direction  of  them  was,  until  March,  1866,  un- 
der the  supervision  of  the  Medical  Board  of  Bellevue,  but  at 
that  time  the  Commissioners  appointed  a  separate  board, 
consisting  of  two  consulting  and  twenty-two  visiting  physi- 
cians and  surgeons.  Two  valuable  members  of  this  board 
lost  their  lives  in  1868,  from  pestilential  disease  contracted 
while  in  the  discharge  of  their  hospital  duties.  This  board 
is  industriously  collecting  a  museum  in  the  Charity  Hos- 
pital, which  is  annually  receiving  many  valuable  additions. 
The  grounds  around  these  institutions  are  very  inviting,  the 
view  rich  and  diversified,  and  everything,  save  the  countenance 
of  the  suffering  patients,  wears  an  air  of  cheerfulness. 

The  Hospitals  for  Incurables  are  situated  on  the  Alms 
House  grounds,  and  are  briefly  described  in  the  account  of 
that  Institution. 

The  Epileptic  Hospital  was  established  in  1866,  for  the 
treatment  of  a  class  of  unfortunates  hitherto  abandoned  as 
incurable,  and  permitted  to  go  through  the  several  stages  of 
their  disease  until  it  ended  in  idiocy,  insanity,  or  death.  The 
Commissioners  have  the  credit  of  establishing  the  first  of  its 
kind  on  this  continent,  and  with  the  exception  of  a  small  one 
in  London,  the  first  in  the  world. 

The  Paralytic  Hospital  was  also  established  in  1866. 
These  were  first  placed  under  the  control  of  a  distinguished 
physician  with  two  assistants,  but  as  he  was  soon  compelled 
to  retire,  they  were  for  a  time  under  charge  of  the  Medical 
board  of  Charity  Hospital,  but  have  since  been  transferred 
to  the  board  of  the  Lunatic  Asylum.  These  hospitals  are 
pavilions  on  the  grounds  devoted  to  the  Lunatic  Asylum,  and 
their  establishment  has  already  been  a  source  of  relief  to 
many.  They  contain  sixty-five  beds  each,  and  are  always 
well  filled. 


THE  NEW  YORK  PENITENTIAEY. 


jg|$HE  New  Fork  Penitentiary  on  Blackwell's  Island 
^i^lg?  stands  nearly  opposite  Fifty-fifth  street,  and  was  the 
WS^I  first  institution  established  on  the  island.  The  south- 
ern wing  of  the  building  was  begun  soon  after  the 
purchase  of  the  island  in  1828,  the  central  portion  was  next 
added,  and  the  northern  wings  are  the  result  of  subsequent 
additions. 

The  building  is  constructed  of  hewn  stone  and  rubble 
masonry,  and  consists  of  a  central  portion  65  by  75  feet,  with 
three  wings  each  50  by  200  feet,  and  several  stories  high. 
The  floors  are  of  stone  and  the  stairways  of  iron.  There  are 
500  cells  for  males,  and  256  for  females,  yet  the  building  is 
often  rather  small  to  accommodate  the  aspiring  candidates. 
The  prisoners  sent  here  are  from  the  New  York  courts,  whose 
term  of  confinement  with  the  majority  is  from  one  to  six 
months,  though  occasionally  one  remains  several  years. 
"When  a  prisoner  is  received,  a  record  is  made  of  his  name, 
age,  weight,  and  the  condition  of  his  health  ;  also  of  his 
nationality,  history,  and  the  offence  for  which  he  was  com- 
mitted. Every  convict  is  expected  to  perform  some  service 
unless  sick,  when  he  is  sent  to  the  hospital.  Most  of  them 
are  allowed  to  follow  their  former  occupations,  and  are  em- 
ployed at  times  as  blacksmiths,  wagon-makers,  boat-builders, 
carpenters,  coopers,  painters,  wheelwrights,  shoemakers,  tail- 
ors, gardeners,  stone-cutters,  boatmen,  etc. ;  and  others,  whose 
former  indolence  has  kept  them  from  every  useful  occupation, 
are  instructed  in  the  sublime  arts  of  blasting,  quarrying,  and 
pounding  rocks.  The  island  originally  abounded  with  rich 
quarries,  most  of  which  have  now  been  exhausted  in  the 
erection  of  the  princely  edifices  that  crown  its  surface,  a 
very  large  proportion  of  the  toil  having  been  performed  by 
the  convicts.  A  gang  of  men  is  daily  sent  to  Kandall's  and 
another  to  Hart  Islands  ;  to  the  latter  of  which,  on  account 
of  its  isolated  condition,  there  is  prospect  of  the  entire  Peni- 
tentiary establishment  being  removed.  The  erection  of  the 
Infant  Hospital,  the  Inebriate  Asylum,  the  new  Insane  Asy- 
lum, and  every  other  new  edifice,  furnishes  a  large  amount 
of  toil  in  grading  and  ornamenting,  to  which  their  time  and 


532 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS . 


Be 

toil  are  devoted.  Their  toil,  however,  is  not  rigorous.  Indeed, 
it  is  immensely  lighter  than  many  of  us  accomplish  who  are 
yet  out  of  prison.  Toil  is  also  one  of  the  most  salutary  forms 
of  discipline  that  can  be  administered  to  criminals  of  any  age, 
grade,  or  nationality.  Without  this  there  can  scarcely  be 
reformation,  and  the  neglect  of  it  has  plunged  most  criminals 
into  the  sea  of  infamy  in  which  they  are  engulfed.  A  few 
learn  trades  while  on  the  island,  which  enable  them,  on  their 
return  to  society,  to  earn  not  only  an  honest,  but  a  comfort- 
able livelihood. 

The  convicts 
are  all  well  clad 
in  striped  wool- 
en garments,  and 
provided  with 
suitable  bedding 
and  food.  We 
saw  two  small 
regiments  of 
them  at  dinner, 
which  consisted 
of  one  pound 
of  beef,  ten 
ounces  of  bread, 
and  a  quart  of 
vegetable  soup 
per  man.  At 
breakfast,  they 
are  served  with 
ten    ounces  of 

bread,  and  one  quart  of  good  coffee  each. 

The  number  of  prisoners  retained  on  the  island  is  less  than 
it  was  twenty  years  ago,  more  being  retained  in  the  city 
prisons,  and  a  large  number  are  now  annually  sent  to  *he 
Workhouse.  On  December  31,  1851,  803  were  in  confine- 
ment at  the  Penitentiary,  and  during  the  twelve  months  im- 
mediately following,  3,450  were  committed.  In  1853,  5,236 
were  committed,  and  at  the  close  of  the  year  1,176  remained. 
The  year  1869  began  with  502  inmates;  1,563  were  commit- 
ted during  the  year,  and  461  remained  at  its  close,  making  a 
daily  average  of  477  prisoners,  maintained  at  an  expenditure 
Of  $73,972.35.  Of  those  committed  1,224  were  males,  and  339 
females.  276  of  them  were  between  the  ages  of  fifteen  and 
twenty  years;  427  from  twenty  to  twenty-five;  316  from 


GUARD-BOATS. 


THE  NEW  YORK  PENITENTIARY 


533 


twenty-five  to  thirty,  after  which  the  number  in  each  semi- 
decade  steadily  decreases.  Twenty  were  under  fifteen  years 
of  age,  ten  of  whom  were  girls,  and  but  one  was  above 
seventy  years  at  commitment,  and  that  one  a  female.  These 
figures  confront  us  with  the  astounding  fact,  that  about  one 
half  of  all  who  enter  the  Penitentiary,  are  under  twenty-five 
years  of  age,  and  appeal  anxiously  for  the  adoption  of  some 
measure  to  arrest  the  progress  of  these  cadets  of  crime,  ere 
they  are  irrevocably  enrolled  in  the  ranks  of  that  army, 
whose  march  terminates  only  at  the  State  Prison,  or  on  the 
gallows. 

Of  the  1,563  committed,  730  were  of  American  birth  (but 
mostly  of  foreign  blood) ;  482  came  from  Ireland,  168  from 
Germany,  74  from  England,  25  from  Scotland,  24  from 
Canada,  13  from  France,  12  from  Prussia,  and  the  remaining 
35  represented  the  other  countries  of  Europe  and  the  West 
Indies. 

Of  the  crimes  with  which  they  were  charged  we  may  state 
thai,  1,078  were  committed  for  petit  larceny,  259  for  assault 
and  battery,  34  for  grand  larceny,  27  for  burglary,  22  for 
vagrancy,  and  a  smaller  number  for  nearly  every  other  species 
of  mischief  in  the  catalogue  of  crime.  The  largest  number 
were  committed  for  six  months,  and  the  next  largest  for  two 
months ;  62  were  for  one  year,  6  for  eighteen  months,  12  for 
two  years,  and  3  for  four  years ;  1,146  were  committed  for 
the  first  time,  245  for  the  second,  94  for  the  third,  41  for  the 
fourth,  17  for  the  fifth,  6  for  the  sixth,  7  for  the  seventh,  2 
for  the  eighth,  1  for  the  ninth,  and  4  for  the  tenth  term. 

Of  the  1,563,  there  were  unmarried  962 ;  married  507 ; 
widows  68  ;  widowers  26.  Of  their  mental  culture  we  are 
informed  that  1,052  could  read  and  write  well,  156  could 
read  and  write  imperfectly,  and  355  were  totally  uneducated. 
Of  their  former  occupations  we  observe  that  of  the  males  394 
were  reported  as  laborers,  59  teamsters,  53  waiters,  52  shoe- 
makers, and  the  remainder  were  scattered  through  over  a 
hundred  trades,  though  in  fact  many  have  never  followed 
anything.  Of  the  females,  224  were  reported  as  domestics, 
53  seamstresses,  13  dress-makers,  10  laundresses,  etc.  These 
are  employed  with  the  needle,  and  in  other  branches  of  use- 
fulness around  the  Institution.  One  cannot  look  over  an 
audience  of  these  convicts,  and  meet  the  glances  of  their 
brilliant  eyes,  without  being  assured  that  the  Penitentiary 
contains  as  much  talent  as  any  other  structure  in  the  county 

34 


534: 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


of  New  York.  And  how  sad  the  reflection  that  this  magnifi- 
cent pile  of  masonry,  that  crowns  this  green  island,  is  a 
crowded  pandemonium — an  empire  of  fallen  Lucifers,  of 
wasted  energies,  disappointed  ambitions,  and  perverted  genius, 
not  likely  to  again  rise  to  a  virtuous  life,  or  a  blissful  immor- 
tality. 

The  moral  condition  of  prisoners  has  from  a  remote  period 
enlisted  the  sympathies  of  the  benevolent,  and  led  to  associ- 
ated efforts  for  their  relief,  yet  improvements  in  prison  discip- 
line progressed  but  slowly  until  within  the  last  fifty  years, 
leaving  still  ample  scope  for  the  study  of  the  thoughtful. 
Justice  is  not  often  administered  with  undue  severity  in  our 
country.  Indeed  it  is  frequently  quite  too  lax  to  promote  the 
public  good.  Yet  the  best  ends  of  penal  justice  are  not  often 
secured  in  our  public  prisons,  and  are  far  too  frequently  ut- 
terly ignored. 

The  object  of  imprisonment  should  be  three-fold :  1.  To 
separate  the  culprit  from  society,  whose  security  he  endangers, 
and  whose  confidence  he  has  forfeited.  2.  To  make  him  sensi- 
ble of  the  law  he  has  violated ;  and  3.  To  secure  if  possible 
his  reformation  and  return  to  the  useful  walks  of  life.  The 
first  two  parts  are  tolerably  well  secured  in  all  countries,  but 
the  last  and  most  important  is  rarely  attained,  and  far  too  sel- 
dom attempted.  A  keeper  of  a  prison  should  be  selected  for 
his  moral  qualities,  and  one  who  ignores  or  scoffs  at  the  refor- 
mation of  a  convict  thereby  demonstrates  his  utter  incompe- 
tency for  so  important  a  calling.  Every  possible  incentive  to 
reformation  should  be  held  out,  and  every  influence  intro- 
duced and  fostered  likely  to  excite  the  desire  of  amendment, 
or  to  bring  up  from  the  depths  of  his  fallen  nature  the  return 
of  buried  manhood.  While  the  reformation  of  the  criminal 
is  neglected,  a  large  percentage  of  those  under  confinement, 
especially  the  younger  and  more  hopeful  portion,  are  certain 
to  return  to  society  more  determined  villains  than  when  they 
left  it,  and  the  penal  institution,  instead  of  suppressing,  virtu- 
ally increases  the  crime. 

The  Commissioners  have  had  under  advisement  for  some 
time  past  the  matter  of  introducing  a  more  rational  system  of 
reformatory  discipline,  than  that  of  mere  compulsory  toil. 
The  prisoners  have  been  carefully  classified,  and  a  system  of 
evening  school  instruction  introduced.  The  matter  of  enter- 
ing the  school  is  entirely  voluntary,  though  after  entering  they 
are  not  allowed  to  abandon  it  at  pleasure.    The  school  was 


Fmai*  CoimcTs.  Penitjsntiary  Blackwbli/s  Island. 


THE  NEW  YORK  PENITENTIARY. 


535 


organized  on  the  evening  of  November  16, 1869,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  School  Trustees  of  the  Nineteenth  Ward,  who 
provided  an  able  corps  of  teachers.  At  the  opening  session 
130  were  present  as  pupils,  and  on  January  10, 1870,  the  reg- 
ister contained  the  names  of  223  or  64  per  cent,  of  those  of 
the  males  so  situated  as  to  be  able  to  attend.  The  largest  num- 
ber of  pupils  were  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and  twenty- 
two  years,  the  next  between  twenty-two  and  twenty-nine,  the 
youngest  of  all  being  fourteen,  and  the  eldest  fifty-two  years 
of  age.  The  uneducated  for  the  most  part  appeared  anxious 
to  acquire  an  education,  and  the  more  scholarly  disposed  to 
further  pursue  their  studies. 

For  want  of  room  the  most  judicious  separation  of  the  pris- 
oners cannot  be  secured,  but  a  system  of  merit  marks  analo- 
gous to  the  MacConochie,  or  "  Irish  system,"  has  been  intro- 
duced, so  that  faithful  observance  of  the  rules  of  the  prison, 
and  such  conduct  as  secures  the  approval  of  the  warden  re- 
ceives a  monthly  recognition,  which  the  Commissioners  report 
to  the  Governor  of  the  State,  recommending  an  abridgement 
of  their  term  of  confinement.  We  are  happy  to  be  thus  able 
to  chronicle  the  begining  of  a  more  rational  and  humane  sys- 
tem of  prison  discipline  for  mature  criminals,  which  posterity 
will  develope,  and  which  will  doubtless  lead  to  excellent  re- 
sults. 

Religious  services  are  regularly  conducted  on  the  Sabbath 
-  by  a  Protestant  and  by  a  Roman  Catholic  chaplain. 


THE  NEW  YORK  ALMSHOUSE 


The  paupers  of  Manhattan  were  long  maintained  by  a 
weekly  pittance  granted  by  the  authorities,  in  compliance  with 
a  law  passed  in  1699.  The  first  public  Almshouse,  the  need 
of  which  had  long  been  felt,  was  erected  in  1734,  and  stood 
on  the  northwestern  extremity  of  what  was  long  known  as 
"  the  commons,"  on  the  site  of  the  present  New  York  Court- 
house. It  was  a  two-story  wooden  structure  46  by  24  feet, 
with  cellar,  and  was  furnished  with  spinning  wheels,  shoe- 
maker's tools,  and  other  implements  of  labor.  <  The  church 
wardens  were  appointed  overseers  of  the  poor  with  authority 
to  require  labor  of  all  paupers  under  penalty  of  moderate  cor- 
rection. The  establishment  contained  a  school  for  children, 
and  was  also  a  house  of  correction  where  masters  were  al- 
lowed to  send  unruly  slaves  for  punishment.  In  1795,  a 
lottery  of  £10,000  was  granted  for  the  erection  of  a  new  build- 
in  g.  A  fine  brick  edifice,  which  was  destroyed  by  fire  in 
1854,  was  accordingly  erected  on  the  site  of  the  old  building. 
After  the  location  of  the  City  Hall  was  agreed  upon,  the 
authorities  resolved  to  remove  the  Almshouse.  A  tract  of 
land  on  the  East  river,  at  the  foot  of.  Twenty-sixth  street,  was 
purchased,  and  the  corner  stone  of  the  new  Almshouse  laid 


THE  HOSPITALS  OF  BLACKWELL'S  ISLAND.  537 

August  1,  1811.  This  edifice  was  of  bluestone,  with  a  front 
325  feet,  and  two  wings  of  150  feet  each,  and  was  opened 
for  inmates  April  22,  1816.  The  Alms  House  was  for  many 
years  under  the  management  of  five  commissioners,  appointed 
by  the  Common  Council ;  in  1845  it  was  placed  under  the 
control  of  one  commissioner;  in  1849  the  "Ten  Governor" 
system  was  introduced ;  and  in  1859  the  number  was  changed 
to  four,  to  be  appointed  by  the  Comptroller  of  the  City,  re- 
presenting the  different  political  parties.  The  new  charter 
of  1870  has  changed  the  number  of  the  commissioners  to 
five.  The  buildings  at  Bellevue  became  too  small,  and  as  they 
were  not  suitably  arranged  for  the  different  classes  of  inmates, 
the  authorities  in  1834  or  1835,  erected  extensive  buildings  a 
short  distance  south  of  Astoria,  to  which  the  children  were 
transferred.  These  buildings  consisted  of  a  boys',  a  girls',  and 
an  infant  "  Nursery,"  and  of  appropriate  school  buildings, 
and  were  sold  at  public  auction  April  15,  1847.  In  1828, 
Elackwell's  Island  was  purchased  by  the  City,  and  Randall's 
Island  in  1835.  In  1847,  ship-fever  prevailed  frightfully 
among  the  Almshouse  population  at  Bellevue,  producing 
great  mortality.  Some  persons  entered  the  clerk's  office  and 
fell  dead  while  their  names  were  being  registered.  The  new 
buildings  now  in  use  on  Blackwell's  Island  were  erected  in 
1847,  and  the  inmates  removed  to  them  in  the  spring  of  1848. 
The  Almshouse  department  occupies  the  central  portion  of  the 
~  island,  and  is  presided  over  by  a  separate  warden,  who  resides 
in  the  cosy  wood  cottage  for  a  long  period  the  mansion  of  the 
Blackwell's  family,  and  said  to  be  more  than  a  hundred  years 
old.  The  buildings  erected  in  1847  are  of  stone,  and  con- 
sist of  two  separate  and  similar  structures,  650  feet  apart, 
are  entirely  distinct  in  their  arrangement,  and  each  devoted 
to  one  sex  only.  They  each  consist  of  a  central  four-story  50 
feet  square,  57  feet  high  to  the  roof,  and  87  to  the  top  of  the 
cupola,  with  two  wings,  each  60  by  90  feet,  and  40  feet  high. 
Each  floor  is  encircled  with  an  outside  iron  veranda  with  stair- 
ways of  the  same  material.  These  buildings  comfortably  ac- 
commodate about  six  hundred  persons  each,  adults  only  be- 
ing admitted. 

They  are  always  tolerably  well  filled,  though  the  great 
pressure  is  in  mid-winter,  and,  on  one  occasion,  eighteen  hun- 
dred were  huddled  within  these  walls.  No  one  can  visit  the 
New  York  Almshouse  without  being  surprised  with  its  ex- 
quisite neatness,  and  the  perfect  discipline  and  regularity  that 


538 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


reign  everywhere  through  the  buildings  and  grounds.  The 
warden,  Mr.  James  Owens,  with  no  paid  help  except  his  clerk 
and  the  matrons,  has  for  a  number  of  years  conducted  this 
Institution,  filled  with  ten  or  fifteen  hundred  aged,  blind,  and 
infirm  persons,  with  an  economy  and  skill  deserving  of  spe- 
cial mention.  The  floors  and  walls  throughout  are  as  clean 
as  soap,  sand,  and  lime  can  make  them.  The  beds  are  better 
kept  than  in  our  first-class  hotels.  Every  morning  they  are 
all  taken  to  pieces,  the  ticks  and  the  bedsteads  thoroughly 
brushed,  after  which  they  are  readjusted  and  covered  with  a 
white  counterpane.  This  simple  process  of  brushing  has  pre- 
served the  Institution  for  years  from  all  attacks  of  vermin. 
Not  an  empty  garment  can  be  found  lying  or  hanging  in  one 
of  the  wards.  The  food  which  is  ample  and  nutritious,  is 
regularly  and  neatly  served.  But,  inviting  as  are  the  build- 
ings, the  grounds  are  still  more  attractive.  The  walks  have 
all  been  neatly  covered  with  flag-stones  or  gravel ;  the  flower 
and  vegetable  gardens,  and  the  lawns  with  their  thrifty  trees, 
exhibit  much  taste  and  cultivation.  Not  a  straw  can  be 
found  on  one  of  the  walks  or  the  carriage-ways,  on  every  one 
of  which  may  daily  be  seen  the  marks  of  the  broom.  The 
Almshouses  were  formerly  the  refuge  of  imbeciles,  lunatics, 
and  of  able-bodied  vagrants,  as  well  as  of  the  old  and  infirm. 
The  former  are  now  provided  for  in  the  Lunatic  Asylum,  and 
the  latter  very  properly  sent  to  the  Workhouse.  On  the  ar- 
rival of  an  inmate,  he  is  immediately  subjected  to  a  bath,  is 
warmly  clad  in  new  garments,  after  which  he  is  conveyed  to 
the  Warden's  oflice  and  formally  admitted.  He  then  under- 
goes an  examination  by  the  House  Physician,  from  whom  he 
receives  a  card,  stating  the  ward  and  class  to  which  he  belongs. 
They  are  divided  into  four  classes  as  follows :  1.  Able  bodied 
men.  2.  Able  to  perform  light  labor,  and  serve  as  orderlies 
of  the  different  wards.  3.  Able  to  sweep  the  grounds  or 
break  stones.  4.  Exempt  on  account  of  disease  or  old  age. 
Some  exhibit  a  willingness  to  perform  all  they  are  able,  and 
others,  addicted  to  idleness,  are  ready  to  evade  toil  with  every 
pretext.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  Physician  to  discriminate  be- 
tween them,  and  those  assigned  to  light  toil  are  compelled  to 
submit  on  pain  of  being  discharged.  This  admirable  system 
of  classification,  introduced  by  the  Commissioners,  has  saved 
the  corporation  from  supporting  armies  of  able  bodied  va- 
grants, and  made  the  Almshouse  population  about  fifty  per 
cent,  less  than  it  was  twenty  years  ago. 


THE  NEW  YORK  ALMSHOUSE. 


539 


In  1850  there  were  in  the  Almshouse  1,313  persons,  or 
one  in  423  of  the  population.  In  1860  there  were  1,631  or 
one  in  432  of  the  population.  In  1870  there  were  1,114,  or 
one  in  808  of  the  population.  The  number  able  to  perform 
service  among  the  females  is  much  less  than  among  the  oppo- 
site sex.  From  these  are  selected  the  nurses,  who  keep  the 
wards  in  order,  and  care  for  the  old  and  feeble.  The  remain- 
der partially  demented,  crippled,  weakened  from  disease  or  in- 
firmity, still  render  such  assistance  as  they  are  able  in  sewing 


KKEPElVS  HOUSE. 


and  knitting.  During  the  year  closing  January  1, 1870,  there 
were  4,053  persona  in  the  Institutions,  of  whom  2,979  were 
admitted,  1,696  discharged,  1,222  transferred  to  other  insti- 
tutions, 21  died,  and  1,114  remained.  Of  the  2,979  admitted, 
363  were  Americans,  2,067  Irish,  260  Germans,  163  English ; 
the  remaining  111  came  from  Scotland,  Canada,  and  other 
countries.  They  are  admitted  at  all  ages,  from  fifteen  years 
and  upwards.  Of  the  2,979  admitted  last  year,  46  were 
under  twenty  years,  437  between  twenty  and  thirty,  435 
between  thirty  and  forty,  507  between  forty  and  fifty,  569 
between  fifty  and  sixty,  609  between  sixty  and  seventy,  276 
between  seventy  and  eighty,  86  between  eighty  and  ninety, 
13  were  over  ninety,  and  1  over  one  hundred  years  of  age. 


540 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


At  least  seven-eighths  of  all  thus  thrown  upon  the  charity  of 
the  city  are  of  foreign  birth,  and  most  of  the  remainder  re- 
duced to  pauperism  by  idleness  or  dissipation.  Two  wards 
in  the  building  appropriated  to  the  males,  and  two  in  the 
building  for  the  females,  are  set  apart  for  the  indigent  blind, 
who  are  sufficiently  numerous  to  require  an  annual  appropri- 
ation of  $25,000  or  $30,000  from  the  Legislature.  The  Alms- 
house buildings  are  valued  at  $434,500  exclusive  of  furni- 
ture and  grounds. 

On  these  grounds  are  situated  also  the  Hospitals  for  Incura- 
bles. These  consist  of  two  one-story  wooden  pavilions,  175 
feet  long  and  25  feet  wide,  one  of  which  is  devoted  to  each 
of  the  sexes.  The  inmates  are  persons  afflicted  with  incurable 
diseases,  but  such  as  require  no  medical  treatment. 

In  addition  to  the  regular  Almshouse  accommodations,  the 
Commissioners  many  years  ago  established  a  Bureau  for  the 
relief  of  the  out-door  poor,  which  has  long  been  managed  by 
an  experienced  and  discreet  superintendent  (Mr.  George 
Kellock).  Until  1867,  it  was  the  practice  of  the  Commis- 
sioners to  appoint  several  temporary  visitors  at  the  approach 
of  winter,  to  assist  the  superintendent  in  examining  the  con- 
dition of  those  applying  for  relief  during  the  cold  season. 
But  it  was  found  that  from  inexperience  or  indifference  the 
work  was  so  poorly  performed,  that  the  city  was  divided  into 
six,  and  afterwards  into  eleven  districts,  to  each  of  which  a 
visitor,  was  assigned,  who  not  only  visits  each  applicant  at  his 
home,  but  investigates  the  causes  of  pauperism,  sickness,  and 
crime,  in  their  respective  districts,  and  reports  the  same  to  the 
superintendent.  During  1869,  the  number  of  families  re- 
lieved with  money  amounted  to  5,275,  with  fuel  7,555. 
More  than  $128,000  were  disbursed  through  this  branch  of 
our  public  charities  alone. 

The  Commissioners  have  felt  the  necessity  of  providing  a 
temporary  shelter  for  the  houseless  poor,  and  have  repeatedly 
appealed  to  the  Legislature  for  authority  to  lease  houses  for 
that  purpose.  To  prevent  serious  suffering  among  a  class  of 
poor  but  reputable  persons,  who  from  various  reasons  might 
be  deprived  of  home,  the  board,  in  1866,  fitted  up  a  portion 
of  a  prison  then  unoccupied  as  a  temporary  lodging-house. 
Over  two  thousand  were  thus  lodged  during  the  winter. 
Each  applicant  was  questioned,  to  prevent  abuse,  and  gave 
satisfactory  reasons  for  destitution.  None  were  admitted 
who  were  intoxicated,  and  in  but  few  instances  any  who  ap. 


THE  NEW  YORK  WORKHOUSE. 


541 


plied  the  second  time.  The  necessity  of  restoring  the  prison 
to  its  original  nse  discontinued  for  the  time  this  arrangement. 

The  superintendent  of  out-door  poor  has  his  headquarters 
in  the  central  office  of  the  Commissioners,  in  the  new  and 
beautiful  building  corner  of  Eleventh  street  and  Third  ave- 
nue. Here  the  Commissioners  hold  their  regular  business 
'  meetings,  and  preserve  the  archives  of  the  department. 

The  New  York  Alms  House,  for  order,  neatness,  discipline, 
the  general  care  and  comfort  of  its  inmates,  compares  favor- 
ably with  any  institution  of  its  kind  in  this  or  any  other  coun- 
try ;  and  the  other  outside  arrangements  for  the  relief  of  the 
destitute  and  the  sick,  are  confessedly  administered  with 
marked  discretion,  and  are  every  way  worthy  of  the  great 
metropolis. 


THE  NEW  YORK  WORKHOUSE. 


\)R  the  proper  administration  of  punitive  justice, 
a  variety  of  institutions  are  required.  Hence,  we 
have  the  State  Prison,  for  the  long  confinement  of 
persons  guilty  of  the  higher  crimes  ;  the  County  Jail 
or  the  Penitentiary  for  criminals  not  yet  as  deeply  depraved 
as  the  preceding  ;  the  House  of  Refuge,  or  the  Juvenile  Asy- 
lum for  vicious,  truant,  and  vagrant  youth;  and  to  these 
the  authorities  of  New  York  have  added  the  Workhouse, 
for  vagrant  and  dissipated  adults.  The  building  is  situated 
on  Blackwell's  Island,  between  the  Almshouse  department 
and  that  devoted  to  the  Lunatic  Asylum.  The  first  effectual 
step  taken  for  establishment  of  this  Institution,  was  at  a 
meeting  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen  June  26,  1848,  when 
Clarkson  Crolius  presented  an  able  communication  on  the 
subject,  which  was  referred  to  a  special  committee  of  three. 
The  board  of  Assistant  Aldermen  also  appointed  a  commit- 
tee to  assist  in  the  deliberations.  On  the  12th  of  February, 
1849,  the  committee  presented  a  voluminous  report  in  favor 
of  establishing  the  Workhouse.  On  the  recommendation  of 
the  Common  Council,  the  Legislature  passed  the  act  for  its 
establishment  April  11, 1849,  and  the  department  was  duly 


542 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


organized  during  the  following  summer,  the  first  commitment 
to  it  from  the  court  occurring  June  14,  1849.  The  original 
act  contained  no  provision  for  buildings,  and  the  inmates 
were  for  some  time  boarded  at  the  Almshouse.  The  cor- 
ner stone  of  the  edifice  was  laid  November  2,  1850,  by 
Mayor  Woodhull,  and  the  building  completed  several  years 
afterwards  under  the  administration  of  the  Ten  Governors. 
The  surface  around  it,  now  so  smooth,  was  originally  exceed- 
ingly broken,  and  more  than  a  thousand  cubic  yards  of  rock 
were  removed  in  preparing  the  site  for  the  southern  wing. 
The  edifice  is  a  vast  longitudinal  structure,  consisting  of  a 
northern  and  a  southern  wing,  with  a  large  four-story  cen- 
tral portion,  and  a  traverse  section  containing  work-shops  ex- 
tending across  the  end  of  each  wing.  The  edifice  is  con- 
structed in  part  of  hewn  stone,  and  partly  of  rubble  masonry. 
The  entire  length  is  680  feet,  or  more  than  one-eighth  of  a 
mile.  The  expense  of  its  erection  was  at  first  estimated  at 
$75,000,  as  much  convict  help  was  employed,  though  a  larger 
sum  was  required  to  complete  it. 

The  central  building  contains  the  kitchen,  store-rooms,  offi- 
ces, private  apartments  for  the  superintendent  and  others, 
and  a  spacious  and  elegant  chapel,  in  which  service  is  statedly 
conducted  by  the  chaplains. 

The  long  wings  consist  of  a  broad  hall,  skirted  on  either 
side  with  a  succession  of  cells  and  sleeping  apartments,  which 
rise  three  stories  high,  fronted  with  iron  corridors  and  stair- 
ways. Each  wing  contains  150  of  these  cells,  which  are 
wide,  containing  iour  single  berths  each,  with  grated  doors, 
and  are  separated  from  each  other  by  brick  walls.  The 
building  is  well  arranged  and  well  ventilated.  One  hun- 
dred and  fifty  lunatics  have  for  some  time  been  domiciled 
here,  awaiting  the  completion  of  the  new  asylum  on  Ward's 
Island.  The  original  intention  of  the  building  was  mot 
wholly  for  a  house  of  correction,  but  an  Institution  in  which 
the  poor,  unable  to  obtain  employment,  might  be  committed, 
and  be,  both  to  themselves  and  the  authorities,  profitably  em- 
ployed. As  an  industrial  Institution  for  the  virtuous  poor, 
it  has  not  succeeded,  and  is  now  devoted  entirely  to  the 
vagrant,  dissipated,  and  disorderly  classes,  who  are  committed 
by  the  police  courts  for  terms  of  service,  ranging  from  ten 
days  to  six  months  each.  The  larger  number  of  commit, 
ments  are  for  intoxication.  It  is  mandatory  on  the  magis- 
trates to  impose  a  fine  on  persons  convicted  of  intoxication 


THE  NEW  YOKE  WORKHOUSE. 


543 


and  in  default  of  payment  to  commit  them  to  the  Work- 
house. The  larger  portion  remain  but  ten  days,  but  many 
are  committed  over  and  over  again  for  the  same  offence, 
called  by  the  clerks  "repeaters,"  having  served  twenty  or 
thirty  terms  for  drunkenness.  The  warden  has  recommended 
a  change  of  the  law,  so  that  habitual  drunkards  should  be 
committed  for  from  six  to  twelve  months,  giving  small  wages 
to  the  more  industrious.  lie  believes  that  with  an  army  of 
permanent  laborers,  large  contracts  might  safely  be  made,  se- 
curing a  much  larger  income  to  the  Institution,  and  the  long 
confinement  a  permanent  benefit  to  the  convicts. 

The  men  are  kept  at  work  breaking  stones,  grading,  build- 
ing sea-walls,  cultivating  the  grounds,  etc.  The  carpenters 
make  the  coffins  for  the  various  institutions,  make  and  repair 
wheel-barrows,  and  carts,  and  toil  in  the  erection  of  new 
buildings.  Blacksmiths,  tinsmiths,  and  tailors  are  employed 
at  the  respective  trades.  Companies  of  laborers  are  dis- 
patched daily  to  toil  on  the  neighboring  islands.  The  women 
are  detailed  to  toil  in  the  numerous  institutions,  and  are  kept 
busy  making  and  mending  the  garments  of  this  immense 
population,  and  in  knitting  their  stockings.  From  15,000  to 
20,000  of  these  convicts  are  annually  received  and  again  dis- 
charged, costing  the  public  from  $50,000  to  $60,000  more 
than  they  are  made  to  earn.  But  few  of  them  are  of  Amer- 
_  ican  birth,  Ireland,  as  usual,  contributing  the  larger  number, 
and  Germany  the  next  largest.  If  New  York  were  purged 
of  these  dregs  of  European  society,  and  her  liquor  traffic  sup- 
pressed, there  would  be  no  need  of  this  ponderous  and  ex- 
pensive Institution.  But  as  the  tide  of  emigration  is  likely 
to  still  roll  heavily  upon  our  shores,  and  the  legislation  of  the 
State  to  favor  the  rum  traffic,  there  is  little  hope  that  the 
"Workhouse  will  be  deserted  for  many  years  to  come.  The 
establishment  of  this  Institution  has  had  a  wholesome  effect 
on  the  Almshouse  population,  as  seventy  persons  were  known 
to  leave  the  Almshouse  on  the  organization  of  this  depart- 
ment. Many  hundreds  more,  during  the  last  twenty  years, 
would,  no  doubt,  have  pressed  their  suits  at  the  Almshouse 
if  it  had  not  been  for  its  next  door  neighbor,  the  Workhouse, 
to  which  they  were  certain  to  be  consigned. 

The  Laboe  Bueeau,  though  not  specially  connected  with 
the  foregoing,  we  still  notice  Here  as  a  matter  of  convenience. 
A  much  larger  number  of  unskilled  laborers  than  can  find 
employment  during  the  winter  months  are  always  in  New 


544 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


York  city,  and  naturally  fall  a  burden  upon  our  private  and 
public  charities.  The  Commissioners,  after  duly  considering 
this  subject,  resolved  to  establish  a  Bureau  in  July,  1868,  to 
facilitate  the  transfer  of  unemployed  laborers  to  other  parts 
of  the  country  needing  their  services.  The  Bureau  was 
opened  at  the  central  office  of  the  Commissioners,  under  the 
direction  of  the  superintendent  of  Out-Door  Poor,  and  the 
plan  of  its  operations  published  in  several  leading  papers  of 
the  country.  It  was  proposed  that  employers  should  make 
application,  setting  forth  the  number  of  persons  they  required, 
the  kinds  of  work  to  be  performed,  and  the  rate  of  wages  to 
be  paid,  the  application  to  be  accompanied  with  a  remittance 
sufficient  to  cover  the  travelling  expenses  of  the  laborers. 
The  applications  received  did  not  offer  sufficient  compensa- 
tion to  laborers,  and  as  none  of  them  contained  the  money  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  travel,  the  scheme  failed.  But  the 
leading  thought  had  been  produced,  and  the  next  Legislature 
made  an  appropriation  for  a  Labor  and  Intelligence  Office. 
This  was  opened  June  15, 1869,  and  from  that  date  to  Janu- 
ary 1, 1870,  there  were  6,670  male  applicants  for  employment, 
11,813  females,  and  situations  were  obtained  for  3,965  males, 
and  11,013  females.  The  labor  of  this  office  constantly  in- 
creases and  its  success  is  very  gratifying. 


NEW  YORK  CITY  LUNATIC  ASYLUM. 


In  the  year  1826,  separate  wards  were  set  apart  in  the  Belle- 
-  vue  establishment,  for  the  accommodation  and  treatment  of 
the  insane  paupers  and  patients.  The  large  Institution  on 
Blackwell's  Island  devoted  to  this  use  was  begun  in  the  spring 
of  1835,  the  western  wing  of  which  was  completed  in  1839,  and 
the  southern  in  1848.  The  building  is  of  stone,  and  consists 
of  a  central  structure,  octagonal  in  form,  eighty  feet  in  diam- 
eter, and  fifty  feet  high,  with  spiral  stairways  rising  to  the 
cupola,  a  spacious  and  splendid  observatory,  overlooking 
the  river,  the  island,  and  a  portion  of  Long  Island,  and  New 
York.  The  two  wings,  at  right  angles  to  each  other,  are  each 
245  feet  long,  and  several  stories  high.  The  building  at  the 
time  of  its  erection  was  one  of  the  finest  of  its  kind  in  the 
country,  with  accommodations  for  over  200  patients.  A 
short  distance  from  the  main  building,  on  the  eastward  side 
of  the  island,  was  also  erected  in  1848,  another  stone  edifice 
60  by  90  feet  and  four  stories  high,  which  has  been  exclu- 
sively devoted  to  the  more  violent  class,  and  denominated 
"  The  Lodge."  This  has  rooms  for  100  patients.  Another 
stone  structure  called  "  The  Ketreat,"  is  devoted  to  the  quiet 


546 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


class,  with  rooms  for  110  persons,  and  numerous  wooden  ones, 
"pavilions,"  have  since  been  added,  literally  dotting  the 
northern  extremity  of  the  island.  The  capacity  of  all  these 
buildings  is  sufficient  for  576  patients.  The  locality  is  un- 
surpassed for  its  salubrity,  and  the  exquisite  beauty  of  its 
scenery,  as  nature  and  art  appear  to  have  sweetly  blended 
their  gifts  and  embellishments,  to  render  this  home  of  the  ir- 
rational one  of  the  most  attractive  spots  of  the  world.  Be- 
fore the  erection  of  these  buildings,  more  than  four  thousand 
insane  persons  had  been  received,  and  from  400  to  800  have 
been  annually  admitted  during  the  last  twenty  years.  At 
the  commencement  of  1847,  with  accommodations  for  but 
200  patients,  nearly  four  hundred  were  crowded  into  the  Asy- 
lum, destroying  all  plans  of  classification,  and  proving  a 
source  of  constant  irritation  to  each  other.  In  no  period  in 
the  history  of  this  Institution,  have  the  accommodations  been 
fully  adequate  to  the  wants  of  this  large  and  ever-increasing 
class  of  sufferers.  The  Commissioners  have  never  been  en- 
couraged nor  allowed  to  increase  the  accommodations,  untL 
the  over-crowding  of  the  Institution  has  made  it  a  matter  of 
positive  necessity.  And  it  is  an  anomalous  fact,  that  while 
every  benevolent  heart  has  throbbed  over  the  woes  of  the 
aged,  the  crippled,  the  orphan,  the  dumb,  and  the  blind,  al- 
most nothing  has  been  attempted  in  the  line  of  private  charity 
for  the  relief  of  the  insane,  ten  or  fifteen  hundred  of  whom 
now  evidently  exist  in  the  county  of  New  York,  beyond  what 
can  be  properly  treated  in  existing  Institutions. 

A  larger  percentage  of  those  admitted  would  have  doubt- 
less recovered  if  suitable  space  had  been  provided.  The 
sensibilities  of  an  insane  patient  are  generally  extremely  acute, 
and  the  will  often  intensely  perverse.  His  future  character, 
even  if  incurable,  depends  largely  on  the  treatment  he 
receives  during  the  first  few  months  of  his  insanity.  Harsh 
treatment,  or  excessive  annoyance  occasioned  by  discomforts, 
usually  render  him  noisy  and  intractable ;  while  pleasant 
surroundings,  with  government  which  wisely  blends  firmness 
and  gentleness,  exert  a  soothing  and  healthful  influence  upon 
him.  Comparative  solitude  is  often  desirable,  and  essential  to 
the  recovery  of  a  patient ;  but  this  is  unknown  in  a  crowded 
institution.  The  blame  of  failure  can  neither  be  charged 
upon  physicians  nor  Commissioners,  until  adequate  means  are 
granted,  thus  securing  accommodations  and  appliances  for 
the  successful  conduct  of  an  Institution.    In  their  report  of 


NEW  YOKE  CITY  LUNATIC  ASYLUM.  547 

1868,  the  Commissioners  presented  a  detailed  statement  of 
the  capacity  of  the  buildings  constituting  the  Lunatic  Asy- 
lum. This  was  stated  to  be  sufficient  for  576  patients,  but 
no  less  than  1,035  were  in  custody  at  that  time,  and  the  year 
1869  closed  with  1,181,  of  whom  150  were  lodged  in  the 
"Workhouse.  Having  received  the  requisite  authority  from 
the  Legislature,  the  Commissioners  have  just  completed  the 
erection  of  a  new  Asylum  building  on  Ward's  Island,  a  few 
hundred  yards  west  of  the  Inebriate  Asylum.  The  edifice,  a 
three-story  English  Gothic,  with  Mansard  roof,  was  constructed 
of  brick  and  Ohio  free-stone.  The  central  section  and  two 
wings  present  an  imposing  front  of  475  feet,  with  accommo- 
dations for  500  patients.  It  has  cost  in  its  erection  $842,000. 
This  building,  which  may  still  be  indefinitely  enlarged,  con- 
tains every  improvement  yet  devised  for  the  safety  and  com- 
fort of  the  insane,  and  will  no  doubt  be  a  credit  to  the 
metropolis.  But  as  over  1,300  patients  were  committed  to 
the  care  of  the  Commissioners  during  1870,  they  still  need 
another  Institution.  In  the  early  history  of  the  Asylum, 
convicts  from  the  Penitentiary  were  largely  employed  in 
taking  charge  of  the  lunatics.  A  violent  prejudice  naturally 
arose  against  this  class  of  nurses,  both  among  the  patients 
and  their  friends,  which  very  seriously  detracted  from  the 
success  of  the  Institution.  It  was  difficult  convincing  the 
insane  that  they  were  not  in  prison  when  constantly  sur- 
rounded by  convicts.  But  it  was  found  that  for  the  restora- 
tion of  reason,  the  ministries  of  persons  eminent  for  their  in- 
telligence and  goodness  were  required,  and  not  of  those  whose 
whole  career  had  shown  an  abandonment  of  the  very  quality 
they  were  now  employed  to  restore.  In  1849,  the  power  to 
appoint  -and  remove  attendants  was  vested  in  the  physician, 
from  which  period  there  has  been  a  steady  advancement  in 
the  management  of  the  Institution.  In  1850,  a  night  watch- 
man was  appointed ;  the  Croton  water  was  introduced ; 
knives  and  forks,  and  various  other  articles  of  comfort  were 
supplied  in  the  halls ;  and  hired  attendants  substituted  for 
convicts  in  most  of  the  departments.  The  halls  were  many 
years  without  lights,  and  the  inmates  compelled  to  retire  early 
or  spend  their  evenings  in  the  dark ;  but  in  1868,  oil  lamps 
were  introduced,  which  have  since  been  displaced  by  gas 
fixtures,  marking  an  important  change  in  the  history  of  the 
Institution.  In  the  early  years  of  the  Asylum  scurvy  fre- 
quently prevailed,  adding  greatly  to  the  mortality  of  the 

35 


548 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


in  mates.  "With  the  abundant  supply  of  fresh  vegetables  and 
other  dietary  and  sanitary  regulations,  this  form  of  disease  has 
now  almost  entirely  disappeared.  During  1868,  eight  deaths 
occurred  from  scorbutic  difficulties,  and  in  1869  but  one. 

The  rate  of  mortality  in  1847  amounted  to  19  percent.;  in 
1848  to  13  per  cent.;  in  1849  cholera  prevailed  in  the  Insti- 
tution, and  over  23  per  cent,  of  the  inmates  died.  In  1868, 
the  death  rate  was  8£  per  cent.,  and  in  1869,  but  7  per  cent. 
In  the  autumn  of  1864,  typhus  fever  appeared  in  the  Asylum, 
which  caused  the  death  of  the  chief  physician,  and  of  many 
subordinate  officers  and  some  of  the  inmates.  The  number 
of  recoveries  are  usually  reported  in  Institutions  of  this  kind, 
though  it  is  a  matter  very  difficult  to  correctly  ascertain.  Of 
the  905  treated  during  1852,  208  were  discharged  "  recov- 
ered," 90  "  improved,"  and  ten  "  unimproved."  The  number 
reported  "  cured  "  amounted  at  that  time  to  23  per  cent,  of 
the  number  under  treatment.  In  1868  the  cured  amounted 
to  31-J  per  cent,  of  all  under  treatment,  and  in  1869  to  27 
per  cent.  The  smaller  percentage  of  cases  during  the  last 
year  was  caused  by  the  over-crowding  of  the  Asylum,  and  the 
necessity  of  dismissing  many  as  "  improved  "  who  would  soon 
have  been  pronounced  "  cured,"  if  space  had  allowed  them 
to  remain. 

A  very  large  proportion  of  those  admitted  into  the  Institu- 
tion are  in  a  diseased  or  debilitated  condition.  Some  have 
organic  diseases  of  the  lungs,  others  are  epileptic,  or  an- 
semic.  As  they  are  usually  unwilling  to  submit  to  thorough 
examination  and  treatment,  the  acumen  and  skill  of  the  med- 
ical attendants  are  often  severely  taxed.  Careful  medical 
treatment  is  administered  in  all  such  cases,  and  a  history  of 
the  treatment  of  each  case  written  in  a  book  and  preserved. 
But  having  counteracted  with  medicine  manifest  physical 
disease,  the  treatment  becomes  simply  moral.  The  patients 
are  classified  according  to  the  nature  of  their  disease  and 
their  susceptibilities.  Appropriate  employment  is  provided 
for  those  who  have  sufficient  strength,  and  can  be  induced  to 
labor  with  their  hands,  mental  toil  for  others,  and  sufficient 
recreation  and  sources  of  amusement  for  all.  A  large 
amount  of  labor  is  annually  performed  by  these  persons. 
The  men  toil  at  building  sea-wall,  assist  in  the  erection  of 
buildings,  follow  their  respective  trades  in  the  shops,  and  are 
made  generally  useful  around  the  grounds.  The  women  are 
no  less  useful.    The  report  of  the  matron  shows  that  during 


NEW  YOKK  CITY  LUNATIC  ASYLUM. 


549 


1869,  5,561  articles  of  bedding  and  clothing  were  made  by 
them,  and  3,208  articles  repaired.  Some  work  at  embroidery, 
and  in  the  preparation  of  fancy  articles  for  the  benefit  of  the 
"  Amusement  Fund  "  of  the  Institution.  Some  sort  of  gen- 
eral amusement  is  now  provided  once  each  week  to  which 
the  more  orderly  class  are  invited.  These  consist  of  stereo- 
scopic views,  readings,  lectures,  and  musical  entertainments. 
Concerts  of  sacred  and  secular  music  are  often  held.  Books 
and  the  periodicals  of  the  day  are  furnished  to  those  who 
have  any  inclination  to  read.  Some  volumes  are  worn  out 
with  constant  reading.  But  the  most  acceptable  amusement 
to  the  great  mass  of  patients  is  said  to  be  dancing.  A  num- 
ber of  those  most  likely  to  be  benefited  by  the  exercise  are 
assembled  weekly  in  the  gymnasium,  and  spend  the  evening 
dancing,  which  appears  to  be  enjoyed  by  those  who  look  on 
as  much  as  by  those  who  participate.  The  holidays  are 
made  seasons  of  rich  and  varied  entertainment  to  those  suffi- 
ciently quiet  and  thoughtful  to  enjoy  them. 

While  the  different  forms  of  insanity  present  a  subject  of 
profoundest  study,  the  various  and  often  changing  halluci- 
nations, coupled  with  the  freaks  and  idiosyncrasies  of  the 
individual  sufferers,  afford  matters  of  lively  amusement.  On 
the  return  of  reason,  some  awake  as  from  a  Hip  Yan  Winkle 
sleep,  to  finish  the  conversation  or  complete  the  task  that 
occupied  them  many  years  before,  when  they  were  plunged 
into  insanity.  Some  during  their  mental  disorders  are  trans- 
ported to  higher  planes  of  thought,  and  are  gifted  with  a 
power  of  conception,  and  a  skillfulness  of  utterance,  hitherto 
unknown. 

They  declaim  with  great  ability  on  profound  subjects,  and 
quote  from  memory  whole  chapters  of  standard  works,  which 
had  been  long  forgotten.  In  this  state  of  mind  they  compose 
poetry,  and  various  other  contributions  for  the  press.  The 
most  amusing  freaks  occur  among  those  suffering  under 
what  is  termed  perfect  mania.  With  these  all  power  of 
correct  reasoning  is  suspended — one  hallucination  possessing 
the  whole  mind,  though  a  hundred  arguments  lie  all  around 
to  convince  to  the  contrary.  Dr.  Rush  mentions  a  man  who 
persisted  that  he  had  a  Caff  re  in  his  stomach,  who  had  got 
into  it  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  all  the  world  could  not 
convince  him  to  the  contrary,  maniac  during  the  French 
Revolution  insisted  that  he  had  been  guillotined — that  after 
his  execution  the  judges  had  ordered  him  restored,  and  that 


550 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


tho  clumsy  executioner  had  placed  the  wrong  head  on  him/ 
which  he  had  worn  ever  since.  We  saw  a  tine  looking  man 
at  this  Asylum  who  believed  himself  Jesus  Christ,  and  was 
ingeniously  inventing  a  language  to  address  the  world. 
Some  believe  themselves  kings,  queens,  or  angels :  to  be  the 
Father  of  Light,  the  queen  of  heaven,  the  Virgin  Mary,  or  the 
sister  of  Jesus.  Inflated  with  such  lofty  conceptions  they  not 
infrequently  remain  speechless  for  months,  counting  it  a  dis- 
grace to  stoop  to  common  mortals.  "We  heard  a  friend  describe 
an  insane  lady  who  for  many  months  fancied  herself  a  china 
teapot.  She  would  sit  for  hours  each  day  with  her  left  hand 
resting  on  her  hip,  the  arm  bowed  a  little  behind  her  to 
represent  the  handle,  while  the  right  arm  she  held  upward  in 
the  opposite  direction,  to  represent  the  spout.  During  all  those 
weary  months  she  suffered  indescribable  fear,  lest  some  un- 
wieldy foot  should  kick  her  over  and  she  be  broken  to  pieces. 

As  in  the  Almshouse  and  Penitentiary,  most  of  the  inmates 
are  of  foreign  blood.  Of  the  680  admitted  in  1869,  only 
157  were  born  in  the  United  States,  308  came  from  Ireland, 
156  from  Germany,  and  17  from  England.  Of  the  same 
class  we  notice  that  375  were  Roman  Catholics,  206  Protes- 
tants, 27  Jews ;  the  faith  of  the  remaining  72  was  unknown. 
Of  these  284  were  married,  267  single,  and  46  widows. 
Of  the  680  admitted  298  were  males,  and  382  females.  210 
were  between  the  ages  of  thirty  and  forty,  184  between 
twenty  and  thirty,  129  between  forty  and  fifty,  30  were  under 
twenty  and  9  over  seventy  years  of  age. 

The  net  expenditures  of  the  Institution  during  1869  were 
§128,780.59  or  a  trifle  more  than  twenty-eight  cents 
per  day  for  each  inmate.  The  expenses  of  1870  exceeded 
$152,278.75. 

The  medical  board  is  composed  of  cultivated  physicians 
who  with  the  accommodations  now  provided  are  certain  to 
make  the  Asylum  take  rank  among  the  noblest  public  chari- 
ties of  the  world. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


INSTITUTIONS  OF  WARD'S  ISLAND. 
COMMISSIONERS  OF  EMIGRATION. 

The  Board  of  Commissioners  of  Emigration  consisting  of 
six  citizens  of  the  State  of  New  York,  appointed  by  the  Gov- 
ernor with  the  consent  of  the  Senate,  to  which  are  added 
as  ex-officio  members,  the  Mayors  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn, 
the  Presidents  of  the  German  Society  and  of  the  Irish  Emi- 
grant Society,  wTas  first  organized  May  5th,  1847.  The  Legis- 
lature has  at  different  times  enlarged  and  modified  its  powers. 

The  Commissioners  are  charged  with  the  reception  of  all 
immigrants  landing  at  New  York,  their  protection  from 
swindlers,  and  also  the  protection  of  the  State  from  financial 
burdens  in  consequence  of  their  arrival. 

The  Act  of  April  11th,  1848,  requires  each  member  of  the 
Commission  to  annually  depose  before  a  proper  magistrate 
that  he  has  not  directly  or  indirectly  been  interested  in  the 


552 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


business  of  boarding  immigrants,  or  in  their  transportation  to 
any  part  of  the  country,  that  he  has  received  no  profit  or  ad- 
vantage through  the  purchase  of  supplies,  granting  of  con- 
tracts, licenses,  or  privileges,  the  employment  of  officers, 
agents,  etc.  Hence  the  Commissioners  not  only  serve  with- 
out salary,  but  are  so  hemmed  in  by  legislation  that  no  out- 
side "  advantage  "  can  be  secured  without  perjury. 

In  1S55,  the  Commissioners  leased  Castle  Garden,  for  the 
general  landing  depot  of  immigrants.  This  occupies  the 
extreme  southern  point  of  Manhattan  Island. 

In  May,  1807,  this  site  was  by  the  city  ceded  to  the  United 
States  government  for  the  erection  of  a  fortification,  but  after 
the  "  Battery "  had  been  erected,  it  was  found  that  the 
foundations  were  not  sufficiently  strong  for  heavy  ordnance, 
and  it  was  reconveyed  to  the  Corporation  by  Act  of  Congress 
passed  March  30th,  1822.  The  building  was  subsequently 
used  for  the  public  reception  of  distinguished  strangers,  and 
for  concerts,  operas,  public  meetings,  the  annual  fairs  of  the 
American  Institute,  and  similar  purposes,  until  leased  by  the 
Commission.  The  total  number  of  passengers  landed  at 
New  York  during  the  year  1872  amounted  to  339,452,  of 
whom  44,871  were  citizens,  and  294,581  aliens.  Of  these 
292.933  stepped  on  shore  at  Castle  Garden.  The  arrivals 
during  1870  were  considerably  less,  in  consequence  of  the 
European  war,  amounting  to  255,485,  of  whom  72,356  were 
from  Germany,  65,168  from  Ireland,  and  33,340  from  Eng- 
land. Over  five-sevenths  of  all  the  immigrants  entering  the 
country  land  at  New  York.  On  the  arrival  of  a  vessel  con- 
taining immigrants  at  the  Quarantine  Station  (six  miles 
below  the  city),  it  is  visited  by  an  ^officer  of  the  Boarding 
Department,  who  ascertains  the  number  of  passengers,  the 
deaths  if  any  during  the  voyage,  the  amount  and  character  of 
the  sickness  on  board,  the  condition  of  the  vessel  in  respect 
to  cleanliness,  etc.  He  also  receives  complaints,  of  which  he 
makes  report  to  the  General  Agent  and  Superintendent  at 
Castle  Garden.  This  officer  remains  on  board  the  ship 
din  ing  her  passage  up  the  Bay,  to  see  that,  the  law  prohibiting 
communication  between  ship  and  shore  before  immigrant 
passengers  are  landed  ia  enforced.  On  casting  anchor  con- 
venient to  the  landing  depot  he  is  relieved  by  an  officer  of  the 
Metropolitan  Police  force, and  the  passengers  are  transferred 
to  the  Landing  Department.  The  Landing  Agent,  accom- 
panied by  an  Inspector  of  Customs,  next  proceeds  to  the 


COMMISSIONERS  OF  EMIGRATION. 


553 


vessel,  where  the  baggage  is  examined,  checked,  and  with 
the  passengers  transferred  by  barges  to  the  Castle  Garden 
pier. 

Here  the  passengers  undergo  another  thorough  examination 
by  a  medical  officer,  to  see  if  any  have  escaped  the  notice  of 
the  Health  authorities  at  Quarantine,  and  if  so,  they  are 
immediately  transferred  by  a  steamer  to  the  Hospitals  on 
Ward's  or  BlackwelPs  Island. 

He  also  selects  all  blind  persons,  cripples,  lunatics,  or 
others  likely  to  become  a  future  charge,  and  who  by  law 
are  subject  to  special  bonds. 

After  this  examination  is  passed,  the  immigrants  are  con- 
ducted to  the  Rotunda,  a  large  roofed  circular  space  in  the 
centre  of  the  Depot,  with  separate  compartments  for  the  dif- 
ferent nationalities.  Here  the  name,  nationality,  former 
place  of  residence,  and  intended  destination  of  each,  with 
other  particulars,  are  taken  down. 

Agents  of  the  railroads  are  admitted,  from  whom  tickets 
are  procured  to  all  parts  of  the  country,  also  exchange 
brokers,  who  buy  their  foreign  money.  Boarding-house 
keepers  of  good  character  and  licensed  by  the  Mayor,  are  ad- 
mitted to  the  Rotunda.  All  these  persons  are  under  the 
scrutiny  of  the  Commission,  rendering  extortion  nearly  im- 
possible. The  depot  also  contains  a  telegraph  office,  by 
which  the  immigrant  on  landing  can  communicate  with  his 
friends  in  any  part  of  the  country  without  leaving  the  build- 
ing; also  a  letter-writing  department,  with  clerks  under- 
standing the  different  continental  languages,  who  assist 
them  in  conducting  their  correspondence.  A  Labor  Ex- 
change bureau  has  recently  been  added,  which  during  the 
year  1872  furnished  employment  to  32,592  immigrants  free  of 
charge.  From  registered  entries  made  in  1869,  of  the 
avowed  destination  of  immigrants,  the  following  is  a  summary : 
85,810  reported  their  intended  destination  to  be  the  State  of 
New  York ;  40,236  to  be  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey ; 
15,613  to  be  New  England ;  10,061  to  be  the  Southern  States ; 
96,646  to  be  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan,  Wisconsin, 
Iowa,  Minnesota,  and  California;  and  8,822  to  be  Kansas, 
Nebraska,  Canada,  &c  The  alien  immigration  during  1872 
was  64,942  in  excess  of  the  previous  year,  and  much 
greater  than  the  average  of  several  former  years.  In  regard 
to  the  nationality  of  these  arrivals,  Germany,  Ireland,  and 
England  show  the  same  pre-eminence  and  in  the  same  rela- 


554 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


tive  order  that  they  have  since  1865,  the  first  named  having 
sent,  of  the  number  landed  in  1869,  99,604,  Ireland  66,204, 
and  England  41,090,  while  all  other  countries  contributed 
52,090. 

Arrangements  were  early  made  to  establish  an  Emigrant 
Fund,  to  provide  for  sick  and  destitute  emigrants  until  they 
should  be  able  to  support  themselves,  and  by  their  industry 
add  to  the  general  prosperity  of  the  country.  A  capitation 
tax  of  two  dollars  is  now  collected  of  each  and  all  landing 
by  the  Commissioners,  one-fifth  of  which  they  are  required 
to  set  apart  as  a  separate  fund,  for  the  benefit  of  each  and 
every  county  in  the  State,  except  the  County  of  New  York, 
to  be  divided  once  in  three  months  among  them  according 
to  their  claims  for  the  relief  of  disabled  immigrants,  the  re- 
mainder to  be  used  by  the  Commissioners  in  the  construc- 
tion and  improvement  of  their  buildings  and  grounds.  On 
the  25th  of  May,  1847,  the  Commissioners  leased  three  large 
buildings  near  Astoria,  formerly  occupied  as  the  juvenile 
branch  of  the  Almshouse  department  of  New  York,  for  a 
fever  hospital  and  other  purposes,  but  the  inhabitants,  in- 
censed at  the  project,  assembled  in  disguise  and  destroyed  the 
premises  on  the  following  evening.  In  the  following  De- 
cember, a  portion  of  Ward's  Island  was  leased,  and  subse- 
quently one  hundred  and  twenty-one  acres  of  it  were  pur- 
chased, with  the  whole  of  the  water  front  toward  New  York 
City.  A  hand  ferry  connects  the  island  with  New  York  at 
One  Hundred  and  Tenth  street.  About  twenty  different 
structures  have  been  from  time  to  time  erected.  The  Yer- 
planck  State  Hospital  is  the  chief  building  of  interest  in  the 
group.  It  is  constructed  of  brick,  on  an  approved  modern 
plan,  and  consists  of  a  corridor  450  feet  in  length  and  two 
stories  high,  from  which  project  five  wings,  130  feet  long  and 
25  wide,  each  two  stories  high  except  the  central,  which  is 
three  stories.  This  building  is  used  exclusively  for  patients 
suffering  with  non-contagious  diseases,  and  surgical  cases. 
The  corridors  afford  ample  room  for  ths  exercise  of  conva- 
lescent patients.  The  corners  of  each  wing  are  surmounted 
with  towers  containing  tanks  for  water,  which  is  distributed 
to  the  bath-rooms  and  closets  attached  to  each  ward.  Pro- 
jecting from  the  corridor,  in  an  opposite  direction  from  the 
wings,  is  a  fire-proof  building  which  contains  three  boilers 
and  the  engine.  A  large  fan,  14  feet  in  diameter,  drives 
the  hot  air  through  00,000  feet  of  pipe  to  all  the  departments 


COMMISSIONERS  OF  EMIGRATION. 


555 


of  the  Hospital,  and  the  same  power  secures  a  cool  current 
through  all  the  sultry  season.  Adjoining  is  the  cook-room 
with  eighteen  steam  kettles  and  ranges,  where  the  cooking 
for  all  the  buildings  is  done.  Above  is  the  bakery  with  four 
ovens,  with  a  capacity  each  of  300  loaves  of  bread,  also  the 
wash-room  with  sixty-three  tubs,  and  machinery  for  washing 
and  wringing  the  clothing.  This  Hospital  has  accommoda- 
tions for  350  patients,  and  often  affords  sleeping  accommo- 
dations for  the  Refuge  inmates. 

The  Refuge  is  a  brick  building  three  stories,  with  base- 
ment and  three  wings,  and  has  accommodations  for  450  per- 
sons. The  first  floor  contains  the  steward's  department,  with 
store  for  Island  supplies,  matron's  room,  cutting-rooms,  and 
sleeping  departments.  The  upper  floors  are  devoted  to  dor- 
mitories. This  building  is  devoted,  as  its  name  indicates, 
to  destitute  cases,  chiefly  healthy  women  and  advanced  chil- 
dren. 

The  Nursery,  or  Home  of  the  Children,  is  a  three- story 
frame  building  with  Mansard  roof,  120  by  90  feet.  In  the 
basement  are  the  dining,  play,  and  bath-rooms.  The  first 
floor  contains  the  matron's  and  the  sleeping-rooms.  On  the 
second  are  the  school-rooms,  with  every  convenience.  Their 
instruction  is  conducted  by  teachers  supplied  by  the  New 
York  Board  of  Education.  On  the  third  floor  is  the  Roman 
Catholic  Chapel  and  its  ante-rooms,  dedicated  in  1868,  by 
Archbishop  McClosky,  assisted  by  a  number  of  his  clergy,  in 
the  presence  of  the  Commissioners  and  other  distinguished 
persons.  It  is  a  neat  and  commodious  room  with  seating  for 
500  persons.    A  new  Chapel  has  since  been  erected. 

The  Protestant  Chapel  occupies  the  second  floor  of  a  sepa- 
rate brick  building,  25  by  125  feet,  and  in  design  and  finish 
corresponds  with  the  Catholic  Chapel.  Connected  with  it  is 
a  reading-room  supplied  with  a  large  number  of  periodicals. 
The  first  floor  of  the  edifice  is  used  as  a  medical  ward  for 
women,  and  will  accommodate  forty-five  patients. 

The  New  Barracks  consists  of  a  plain  brick  edifice,  with 
three  stories  and  basement,  with  rear  projection  for  boiler- 
rooms,  bath-rooms,  etc.  The  building  is  160  feet  by  44,  is 
heated  with  steam,  and  contains  berths  for  450  persons.  The 
dining-hall  is  a  separate  edifice,  50  feet  by  125,  with  tables  for 
the  accommodation  of  1,200  persons  at  one  time. 

A  three-story  and  basement  brick,  25  by  125  feet,  Is  the 
Lunatic  Asylum.    This  is  under  the  direction  of  the  physi- 


556 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


cian-in-chief,  and  by  him  regularly  attended.  During  1872 
there  were  347  of  this  class  under  treatment,  of  whom  102 
were  discharged  cured  or  improved  ;  49,  whose  term  had  ex- 
pired, were  transferred  to  the  BlackwelPs  Island  Lunatic 
Asylum,  31  to  other  wards  for  other  maladies,  and  20  died. 
At  this  writing  it  contains  86  insane  women,  and  80  men, 
one  half  of  whom  are  Irish ;  and  the  others  represent  nearly 
all  the  countries  of  Europe.  The  old  building  was  entirely 
insufficient  for  the  accommodation  of  this  large  and  rapidly 
increasing  class,  and  the  Commissioners  have  this  year  com- 
pleted the  erection  of  a  large  and  commodious  Asylum. 

Besides  numerous  other  buildings,  which  we  have  not  space 
to  describe,  we  may  simply  state  that  the  residences  of  the 
physicians,  superintendent,  and  his  deputy  are  all  ample  and 
well-furnished,  in  keeping  with  their  wants  and  responsibili- 
ties. 

Immigrants  having  paid  their  commutation  fee  are  allowed 
to  return,  in  all  cases  of  sickness  or  destitution,  for  five  years, 
and  share  without  charge  the  treatment  of  the  Hospital,  and 
the  comforts  of  the  other  Institutions.  The  farm  is  culti- 
vated with  this  emigrant  help,  and  as  many  as  possible  are 
made  useful  on  the  premises.  The  buildings  form  a  village, 
surrounded  with  sloping  lawns,  fruit  and  shade  trees,  gardens 
and  fields  of  high  cultivation.  In  pleasant  weather  women 
and  girls  may  be  seen  sitting  in  groups  of  fifties  in  the  shade 
of  the  buildings.  A  Catholic  and  a  Protestant  chaplain  hold 
stated  services  attended  by  their  respective  adherents. 

About  fourteen  thousand  are  annually  cared  for  on  the 
Island,  the  average  family  amounting  to  about  twelve  or  four- 
teen hundred.  As  might  be  expected,  the  magnificence  of 
this  princely  system  is  often  imposed  upon,  both  by  the 
spendthrift  and  the  miserly  immigrant,  who  returns  too  fre- 
quently to  be  clothed  and  boarded  through  the  winter  season 
at  the  Refuge.  Appropriate  legislation  only  can  check  this 
growing  abuse.  "We  turn  from  the  review  of  this  interesting 
subject,  feeling  that  the  ample  reception  provided  for  our 
alien  brethren  is  sufficiently  worthy  of  our  times,  and  of  the 
great  city  and  State  whence  it  emanates. 


THE  NEW  YORK  INEBRIATE  ASYLUM. 


f  ^NTEMPERANCE  has  been  for  ages  the  withering 
J3f  curse  of  the  race  in  nearly  every  part  of  this  world.  It 
S  ffik  has  feasted  alike  upon  the  innocency  of  childhood,  the 
^slKJ  beauty  of  youth,  the  amiableness  of  woman,  the  talents 
of  the  great,  and  the  experience  of  age.  It  has  disgraced  the 
palace  and  crown  of  the  prince,  the  ermiue  of  the  judge,  the 
sword  of  the  chieftain,  and  the  miter  of  the  priest.  The 
temperance  reform,  commeuced  nearly  fifty  years  ago,  has 
awakened  the  public  conscience,  exposed  these  frightful  dan- 
gers, and  called  into  existence  a  multitude  of  agencies  seeking 
in  various  ways  the  removal  of  this  deadly  plague.  But 
though  multitudes  have  been  saved,  the  great  sea  of  intem- 
perance has  been  in  no  sense  diminished,  while  the  adultera- 
tion and  drugging  of  ardent  spirits  in  our  day  have  greatly 
intensified  the  horrors  of  dissipation.  Intemperance  is  a  dis- 
ease often  inherited  from  ancestors,  and  otherwise  contracted 
through  the  criminal  indulgence  and  perversion  of  the  appe- 
tites. The  habitual  drunkard  is  a  wreck,  as  completely  as  the 
idiot  or  the  maniac,  and  merits  confinement  and  treatment. 
Drunkenness,  like  insanity,  yields  promptly  to  treatment  in 
its  early  stages,  but  after  long  indulgence  becomes  well-nigh 
incurable.  During  the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  many 
humane  and  thoughtf  ul  persons,  appalled  with  the  havoc  of 
this  gigantic  evil,  have  inquired  anxiously  for  some  system  of 
treatment  by  which  the  recovery  of  the  inebriate  might  be 
secured.  In  1854,  the  New  York  Legislature  chartered  the 
State  Inebriate  Asylum,  which  was  located  on  a  large  farm  at 
Binghamton,  and  has  become,  through  able  management,  a 
great  and  successful  institution.  One  has  since  sprung  up  on 
the  Pacific  slope,  and  others  in  different  parts  of  the  country. 
In  their  annual  report  of  1862,  the  Commissioners  of  Chari- 
ties and  Corrections  recommended  to  the  Legislature  the 
establishment  cf  a  similar  institution  in  this  city.  As  no 
action  was  taken  by  that  body  in  relation  to  it,  the  Commis- 
sioners, in  their  report  of  1863,  renewed  the  subject  with 
great  earnestness  and  ability.  In  these  appeals  they  showed 
that  multitudes  of  persons  went  from  the  dram-shop  to  the 
police-station,  and  from  the  police  courts  to  the  Workhouse, 


558 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


from  whence,  after  a  short  stay,  they  returned  to  the  dram- 
shop, to  run  the  same  round  over  and  over  again  for  years, 
until  they  at  length  died  on  their  hands  as  paupers  or  crimi- 
nals, and  were  laid  in  the  Potter's  Field.  In  1864,  the  Legisla- 
ture passed  an  act  authorizing  its  establishment,  and  the 
Asylum  was  begun  in  1866.  The  building  stands  on  the  east 
side  of  Ward's  Island,  on  an  elevated  and  beautiful  site,  which 
could  scarcely  be  excelled.  It  was  at  first  proposed  to  limit 
the  size  of  the  edifice  to  the  accommodation  of  150  inmates, 
but  in  view  of  the  necessary  outlay  for  the  heating,  lighting, 
washing,  and  cooking  apparatus,  it  was  finally  decided  to  add 
two  wings  to  the  main  structure,  and  thus  provide  accommoda- 
tions for  400  patients.  The  Asylum  is  a  three-story  brick, 
with  a  front  of  474  feet  and  a  depth  of  50  feet,  and  cost,  in 
its  original  construction,  exclusive  of  furniture,  $332,377.08. 
It  is  one  of  our  best  public  buildings,  and  was  erected  for  a 
noble  purpose.  Croton  water  is  conducted  to  it  through  an 
iron  pipe  six  inches  in  diameter,  laid  on  the  bed  of  the  East 
River  from  One  Hundred  and  Fourteenth  street,  which 
empties  into  a  reservoir  ten  feet  deep,  and  one  hundred  feet 
in  diameter. 

On  the  21st  of  July,  1868,  the  Asylum  was  formally  opened 
to  the  public,  with  appropriate  services,  and  on  the  31st  of 
December  the  resident  physician  reported  339  admissions. 
During  1869,  1,490  were  received,  and  during  1870,  1,270 
more  were  admitted.  The  inmates  are  divided  into  several 
classes.  The  larger  number  thus  far  admitted  have  been 
transferred  from  the  Workhouse,  or  some  of  the  other  institu- 
tions, and  have  returned  to  their  vices,  for  the  most  part,  as 
soon  as  their  terms  of  commitment  have  closed.  There  are 
also  three  classes  of  pay  patients  —  one  class  paying  five, 
another  ten,  another  twelve  or  more  dollars  per  week — which 
are  furnished  with  rooms  and  board  corresponding  in  style 
with  the  price  paid.  Of  the  339  admitted  during  the  first  six 
months,  but  52  were  pay  patients ;  of  the  1,490  in  1869, but  147 
contributed  anything  toward  their  support ;  and  of  the  1,270 
admitted  during  the  year  just  closed,  but  165  were  pay  pa- 
tients, 30  of  them  being  females.  The  rules  of  the  Institu- 
tion were  at  first  exceedingly  mild,  the  patients  were  relieved 
from  all  irksome  restraints,  paroles  very  liberally  granted, 
and  every  inmate  supposed  intent  on  reformation.  •  But  this 
excessive  kinduess  was  subject  to  such  continual  abuse,  that 


THE  NEW  YORK  INEBRIATE  ASYLUM. 


559 


to  save  the  Institution  from  utter  demoralization  a  stricter 
discipline  was  very  properly  introduced. 

The  Asylum  is  furnished  with  an  excellent  library  of  solid 
standard  volumes,  with  billiard-room,  and  other  forms  of 
amusement.  It  has  an  immense  chapel,  in  which  divine  ser- 
vice is  regularly  conducted.  As  the  inebriate  patients  have 
not  filled  the  building,  the  Commissioners  have  temporarily 
assigned  the  eastern  wing  to  a  class  of  disabled,  indigent  sol- 
diers, citizens  of  New  York,  who  are  organized  into  squads, 
and  perform  such  light  labor  as  their  wounds  and  infirmities 
will  permit. 

Of  the  success  of  the  New  York  Inebriate  Asylum,  it  is 
perhaps  too  early  to  speak.  We  could  but  notice,  however, 
the  great  disparity  between  the  faith  of  the  Commissioners, 
in  their  appeals  to  the  Legislature  in  1862-63,  for  authority 
to  found  an  asylum,  and  their  report  of  the  same  Institution 
in  1869,  when  they  "  deemed  it  their  duty  to  thus  frankly 
state  their  views,  that  the  streams  of  public  beneficence  be  not 
unduly  diverted  from  objects  of  great  and  permanent  utility  to 
those  the  benefits  of  which,  in  their  opinion,  are  largely  facti- 
tious and  imaginary."  The  resident  physician,  in  his  very 
thoughtful  and  carefully  prepared  report  of  the  same  year,  de- 
clared his  entire  loss  of  faith  in  the  "  voluntary  system"  gen- 
erally adopted  in  these  asylums,  and  introduced  at  the  opening 
of  the  Institution  on  Ward's  Island.  Still,  the  undertaldng  is 
too  important  to  suppose  these  gentlemen  likely  to  relinquish 
their  endeavors,  or  to  admit  the  possibility  of  ultimate  failure. 
This  entire  scheme  for  reforming  the  inebriate  is  yet  in  its 
early  infancy,  and  must,  like  every  other  system,  meet  with 
much  baffiing  and  difficulty.  We  think  a  stricter  discipline, 
and  more  positive  self-denial  and  rigor,  would  be  an  improve- 
ment in  every  inebriate  asylum.  Children  who  grow  up 
under  wise  but  positive  laws  exhibit  more  self-control  and 
self-denial  all  through  life,  than  those  who  have  lived  under 
the  voluntary  system.  Inebriates  for  the  most  part  have 
grown  up  without  restraint,  the  principles  of  which  they  must 
somewhere  master,  before  they  can  attain  to  real  manhood, 
and  without  which  they  must  forever  remain  in  their  sunken, 
enslaved,  and  demented  condition.  And  while  we  regard 
facilities  for  amusement  and  pleasure  desirable  in  an  institu- 
tion, we  still  believe  labor  immensely  more  likely  to  contrib- 
ute to  one's  reformation  ;  and  the  more  one  has  been  addicted 
to  softness  and  pleasure,  in  consequence  of  his  wealth,  the 


560 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


greater  the  necessity  for  arduous  exercise,  which  shall  harden 
his  muscles,  invigorate  his  intellect,  and  strengthen  his  will. 
Reformation,  when  one  has  been  long  and  wofully  corrupted, 
is  not  a  holiday  recreation,  but  a  manly  and  deadly  struggle, 
taxing  to  the  utmost  the  finest  faculties  of  the  soul,  tittle 
can  be  expected  from  young  men  of  wealth,  who,  while  they 
voluntarily  shut  themselves  for  a  time  from  the  intoxicating 
bowl,  live  at  ease,  indulging  every  other  appetite.  Their 
reformation  is  not  sufficiently  deep  and  general  to  resist  the 
shock  of  subsequent  temptation.  And  no  more  can  be  hoped 
for  those  who  enter  an  asylum  simply  to  gratify  the  wishes  of 
friends.  These  belong  to  that  class  who  will  also  enter  a 
billiard  saloon  and  a  beer  garden  when  invited  by  an  old 
companion.  Still  less  can  be  expected  from  those  floating 
human  wrecks  on  the  sea  of  life  that  drift  once  a  month  into 
the  Workhouse,  for  their  lewdness  and  habitual  dissipation. 
Coming  from  the  most  abandoned  classes  in  the  community, 
utterly  improvident  and  reckless,  their  involuntary  abstinence 
for  a  brief  period  is  likely  to  be  followed  by  deeper  dissipa- 
tion when  opportunity  offers.  The  New  York  Inebriate  Asy- 
lum is  not  to  be  judged  from  its  fruit  in  the  treatment  of 
these.  To  rescue  many  of  them  requires  a  miracle  as  great 
as  the  raising  of  Lazarus. 

It  is  conceded  that  there  is  no  medicine  which  acts  specifi- 
cally in  drunkenness.  The  physician  can  only  assist  nature 
in  its  work  of  repairing,  by  slow  processes,  the  ravages  dissi- 
pation has  made  in  the  system.  The  appetite  must  be  con- 
quered by  voluntary  abstinence,  which  is  greatly  assisted  by 
good  society,  means  of  culture,  toil,  and  prayer.  The  treat- 
ment in  an  institution  of  this  kind  is  eminently  moral,  hence 
too  much  pains  can  hardly  be  taken  in  the  selection  of  its  offi- 
cers. The  superintendent,  physician,  and  chaplain  are  not 
dealing  largely  with  matters  of  physical  science,  but  with  the 
perverseness  of  the  human  mind,  requiring,  besides  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  strange  contradictions  of  human  nature,  a  magnetic 
influence  calculated  to  attract  and  mold.  The  success  of  an 
institution  depends  more  upon  the  men  to  whom  its  manage- 
ment is  committed  than  upon  the  technicalities  of  the  system 
adopted  within  its  walls,  its  convenience,  or  its  location. 

The  principles,  practices,  and  spirit  of  a  genuine  heart-piety, 
more  than  any  or  all  other  things  combined,  give  success  to 
an  inebriate  asylum;  and  we  have  known  few  examples  of 
genuine  reformation  among  inebriates,  without  amoral  regen- 


THE  NEW  YORK  INEBRIATE  ASYLUM. 


561 


eration.  A  change  of  life  is  difficult  without  a  change  of 
heart,  but  with  this  it  becomes  comparatively  easy.  Change 
the  fountain,  and  the  bitter  water  will  cease  to  flow. 

We  are  thankful  that  the  attention  of  thoughtful  men 
throughout  the  civilized  world  is  being  concentrated  on  this 
great  problem:  how  to  successfully  treat  and  reform  the 
inebriate.  It  is,  indeed,  a  vital  question,  involving  the  hap- 
piness of  the  individual  and  the  family,  the  wealth  of  the 
community  and  the  strength  of  the  State.  A  system  based 
on  truly  scientific  and  moral  principles  will  certainly  be 
evolved  sooner  or  later,  and  we  trust  that  at  no  distant  day 
the  New  York  Inebriate  Asylum  will  rank  among  the  best  of 
its  kind  in  the  world. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


INSTITUTIONS  OF  RANDALL'S  ISLAND. 

THE  NEW  YORK  NURSERIES. 
(BandaWs  Island.) 


r3Eg4 AND  ALL'S  ISLAND  takes  its  name  from  Jona- 
\]&J$&  than  Randall,  who  purchased  it  in  1784,  and  made  it 
;&-vf his  home  for  nearly  fifty  years.    Beginning  opposite 

^  One  Hundred  and  Fifteenth  street,  and  extending 
northward  to  near  the  Westchester  line,  it  forms  the  last  of 
that  group  of  beautiful  islands  that  adorns  the  East  river, 
and  from  the  uses  to  which  they  have  been  appropriated, 
form  a  sort  of  moral  rampart  to  the  great  metropolis. 
Originally,  like  all  its  sister  islands,  it  appeared  like  one  of 
nature's  failures,  its  surface  being  so  largely  covered  with 
malarious  swamps,  and  surmounted  wTith  hills  of  granite.  It 
was  transferred  to  the  city  of  New  York,  in  1835,  for  the  sum 
of  $50,000.  The  sites  for  the  present  buildings,  with  their 
handsomely  arranged  grounds  and  charming  gardens,  have 
been  prepared  at  the  unavoidable  outlay  of  vast  sums.  About 
thirty  acres  of  the  southern  portion  are  under  the  control  of 
the  "  Society  for  the  Reformation  of  Juvenile  Delinquents," 
and  occupied  by  the  House  of  Refuge,  while  the  northern, 
and  much  larger  portion,  is  controlled  exclusively  by  the 
"  Commissioners  of  Charities  and  Corrections,"  who  have 
here  located  what  they  denominate  the  "  Nurseries."  Thess 
form  the  juvenile  branch  of  the  Almshouse  department,  the 
adults,  except  such  as  assist  in  taking  care  of  the  children, 
being  provided  for  and  retained  on  Blackwell's  Island. 

The  Nurseries  consist  of  three  departments,  viz. :  The  build- 
ings for  the  healthy  children,  the  Infant  Hospital,  and  the 
Idiot  Asylum.  There  are  six  large  buildings  for  the  healthy 
children,  several  hundred  feet  apart,  grouped  together,  though 
arranged  on  no  special  plan,  near  the  centre  of  the  island. 
They  aiv  constructed  of  brick,  three  stories  high,  some  of 
which  are  furnished  with  outside  corridors,  are  well  arranged 


THE  NEW  YOEK  NUESEETES. 


563 


and  kept  in  a  very  tidy  and  inviting  condition.  An  assistant 
matron  is  placed  in  charge  of  each  of  these  buildings,  the 
whole  being  presided  over  by  a  warden  and  matron.  A 
separate  building  contains  the  machinery  for  the  washing, 
drying,  etc.  The  inmates  of  these  buildings  are  children 
over  four  3-ears  of  age,  abandoned  by  their  parents,  and  taken 
by  the  police  from  the  public  streets,  and  children  whose 
parents  for  the  time  are  unable  to  support  them.  On  arriving 
at  the  island  they  are  placed  in  quarantine  for  several  days, 
to  guard  against  the  spread  of  contagious  diseases,  where  they 
are  examined  daily  by  a  physician.  If  diseased  they  are  sent 
to  the  hospital;  if  not  they  are  distributed  according  to  their 
age  and  sex  among  the  other  buildings.  It  is  the  aim  of  the 
Commissioners  to  make  the  Nurseries  places  of  but  temporary 
sojourn,  and  to  cause  their  distribution  among  families  as 
early  as  practicable.  To  this  end  parents  are  notified  that  no 
child  may  claim  to  be  retained  longer  than  three  months 
unless  its  board  be  paid.  If  not  reclaimed  by  their  friends 
at  the  expiration  of  that  time,  the  Superintendent  of  Out- 
Door  Poor  may  apprentice  such  as  are  of  proper  age,  or,  if 
too  young,  adopt  them  iuto  families  willing  to  take,  and  able 
to  support  and  educate  them.  This  wise  regulation  prevents 
the  overcrowding  of  the  buildings,  and  avoids  the  evils  inci- 
-  dent  to  massing  large  numbers  of  children  together  through 
those  tender  years  when  the  habits  of  life  are  being  formed. 
No  child  in  full  possession  of  its  faculties  is  retained  after  it 
completes  its  sixteenth  year.  The  grounds  adjourning  the 
buildings  are  ample,  which  at  certain  hours  are  made  vocal 
by  the  white-aproned  boys  who  trip  and  frolic  with  infinite 
merriment.  Their  diet  is  ample  and  nutritious,  comprising  a 
greater  variety  than  is  common  in  public  institutions.  The 
children  wdiile  here  receive  the  same  instruction  imparted  to 
those  of  a  similar  age  in  the  city,  teachers  being  supplied  by 
riie  Nev  York  Board  of  Public  Instruction.  The  numbers 
annually  admitted  to  the  Nurseries  vary  from  1,800  to  3,000, 
according  to  the  severity  of  the  season.  A  large  farm 
stretches  over  the  northern  portion  of  the  Island,  cultivated 
mainly  by  men  detailed  from  the  Workhouse  and  Peniten- 
tiary, and  which  affords  most  of  the  vegetables  for  the  Nur- 
series. 


36 


THE  INFANT  HOSPITAL. 


^gBOR  many  years  the  practice  of  sending  foundlings 
jp^E  and  other  infants  committed  to  the  Department  to 
^jpg?  the  Almshouse  prevailed,  where  they  were  placed  in 
charge  of  the  female  inmates.  The  records  show  that 
the  mortality  of  this  unfortunate  class  during  this  period 
amounted  to  the  appalling  figure  of  eighty-five  or  ninety  per 
cent.,  and  it  is  even  believed  that  excepting  the  few  adopted 
none  survived  the  first  year.  In  1866,  the  Commissioners 
appointed  a  matron,  and  employed  paid  nurses  to  take  ex- 
clusive charge  of  the  infants,  and  although  the  mortality 
continued  large  there  was  a  manifest  change  for  the  better. 
The  next  year  wet  nurses  were  transferred  from  the  general 
hospitals  to  nourish  them.  Life  by  this  means  was  so  pro- 
longed, and  the  number  so  increased  that  it  became  necessary 
to  convert  several  wards  of  the  Almshouse  into  nurseries, 
and  on  the  completion  of  the  Inebriate  Asylum,  the  infants 
were  temporarily  transferred  to  that  building.  The  necessity 
of  providing  a  large  and  well-arranged  hospital,  devoted 
wholly  to  this  class,  had  long  been  felt.  Such  an  edifice  was 
begun  in  1868,  and  a  portion  of  it  was  made  ready  for  the  re- 
ception of  the  nurses  and  children  on  the  9th  of  August,  1869. 
The  building  stands  on  the  western  side  of  Randall's  Island, 
facing  northward,  is  constructed  of  brick  and  stone,  in  the 
most  approved  style  of  modern  hospital  architecture. 

The  plan  consists  of  a  long,  three-story  pavilion,  with  three 
large  traverse  sections,  the  eastern  one  not  yet  having  been 
erected.  The  offices  and  private  apartments  for  the  physi- 
cians are  located  in  the  northern  portion  of  the  central  trav- 
erse section,  the  latter  being  well  arranged  on  the  second 
floor.  The  edifice  was  erected  under  the  supervision  of  the 
Medical  Board,  and  contains  every  facility  for  light,  heat, 
and  ventilation.  It  is  at  present  divided  into  eighteen  wards, 
and  has  accommodations  for  153  adults  and  217  children, 
though  260  of  the  latter  class  have  already  been  under  treat- 
ment in  it  at  one  time.  The  completion  of  the  section  yet  to 
be  added  will  greatly  increase  the  accommodations.  Chil- 
dren are  taken  as  foundlings,  orphans,  and  are  often  attended 
by  their  indigent  mothers.    They  are  divided  into  three 


THE  INFANT  HOSPITAL. 


565 


classes :  the  "  wee  nursed,"  the  "  bottle-fed,"  and  the  "  walk- 
ing-children." Unless  reclaimed  by  their  parents,  they 
continue  in  the  Hospital  until  two  or  three  years  old,  when 
they  are  placed  in  a  nursery  where  one  nurse  can  take  charge 
and  instruct  ten  or  twelve  of  them.  As  many  wet-nurses  as 
possible  are  obtained,  though  the  supply  is  never  equal  to  the 
demand.  1,516  infants  were  under  treatment  during  the 
year  closing  January  1,  1S70,  710  of  whom  died.  Since 
entering  the  new  Hospital,  the  rate  of  mortality  has  been 
greatly  lessened.  During  the  five  months  of  1868  (from 
August  to  December  inclusive),  883  deaths  occurred,  or  21.10 
per  cent,  per  month  of  the  inmates.  During  the  same  period 
in  1869,  156  died,  or  10.07  per  cent,  of  the  inmates,  a  de- 
crease of  over  one-half.  The  statistics  of  mortality  during 
the  whole  year  of  1870  were  58.90  per  cent,  of  all  found- 
lings received,  and  15.06  of  those  received  with  their  mothers. 
The  chief  physician,  Dr.  Dunster,  believes  that  the  annual 
mortality  will  be  further  reduced  by  the  full  development  of 
the  plans  of  the  Commissioners.  It  is  doubtful  whether  any 
better  place  for  foundlings  will  be  provided  among  the  char- 
ities of  New  York. 

The  nursery  population  has  several  times  been  sadly  over- 
taken with  epidemics,  now  believed  to  have  resulted,  at  least 
in  part,  from  an  inadequate  supply  of  good  water.  This  evil 
has  now  been  obviated  by  the  laying  of  more  pipe,  affording 
an  abundant  supply  of  pure  Croton.  The  engine-house,  con- 
taining, besides  the  heating  and  ventilating  apparatus  for  the 
Hospital,  the  washing  and  drying  apartments,  is  situated  at 
some  distance  from  the  main  building.  A  gas-house  for  the 
manufacture  and  supply  of  this  illuminating  agent  to  all 
the  buildings  stands  in  the  rear  of  the  engine-house.  The 
grounds,  which  slope  gracefully  to  the  river,  adorned  with  a 
row  of  chestnut,  hickory,  and  oak  trees,  are  being  nicely 
graded,  and  will,  no  doubt,  in  time  be  highly  ornamental. 
The  roads  and  walks  are  being  built  in  the  most  substantial 
manner,  on  stone  foundations,  varying  from  one  to  two  feet 
in  thickness,  and  macadamized. 


THE  IDIOT  ASYLUM. 


^gjpHIS  is,  after  all,  the  most  curious  and  interesting  In- 
^O^r  stitution  under  the  control  of  the  Commissioners. 
Idiocy  has  existed  in  all  ages  and  countries,  but  no 
effort  appears  to  have  been  made  for  the  improve- 
ment of  this  class  until  the  seventeenth  century,  and  no  con- 
siderable progress  made  in  their  education  until  within  the  last 
fifty  years.  The  present  century  has,  however,  witnessed  the 
establishment  of  large  institutions  for  their  benefit  in  France, 
England,  Switzerland,  and  in  various  parts  of  the  United 
States.  In  1855,  the  State  of  New  York  erected  a  fine  Asy- 
lum at  Syracuse,  at  the  expense  of  nearly  §100,000,  with  ac- 
commodations for  one  hundred  and  fifty  pupils,  which  has 
since  been  generally  well-filled.  A  large  number  of  persons, 
representing  every  degree  of  imbecilit}',  have  annually  been 
thrown  on  the  care  of  the  Commissioners  of  Charities  and  Cor- 
rections, for  whom  little  was  done,  more  than  to  supply  their 
physical  wants,  until  18G6,  when,  with  grave  doubts  of  its 
success  as  a  means  of  mental  development,  a  school,  under 
the  direction  of  Miss  Dunphy,  was  established.  It  began 
with  twenty  pupils ;  in  1867  it  had  increased  to  forty-two;  in 
18G8  to  over  seventy,  and  at  this  writing  to  one  hundred. 
The  Asylum  is  a  tasty  three-story  biriek  structure,  with 
wings,  well  divided  into  school-rooms,  dormitories,  refectory, 
and  other  appropriate  apartments.  It  contains  at  present, 
besides  officers  and  teachers,  141  persons,  whose  ages  vary 
from  six  to  thirty  years,  and  who  represent  nearly  every 
phase  of  an  enfeebled  and  disordered  brail  Here  are  boys 
of  eight  years  whose  enormous  heads  far  outmeasure  the 
Wobsters  and  Clays',  others  of  twenty-five  with  whiskers  and 
mustaches,  whose  skulls  are  no  larger  than  an  ordinary 
infant  of  ten  months.  Some  are  congenital  idiots,  born  to 
this  enfeebled  state,  others  have  been  reduced  to  it  by  par- 
oxysms, oi  other  casualties.  They  are  divided  into  two  gen- 
eral classes,  the  hopelessly  imbecile,  and  those  capable  of 
some  improvement.  The  forty-one  composing  the  first  class 
at  present  show  but  transient  gleams  of  thought  or  under- 
standing, and  are  lost  for  the  most  part  in  ceaseless  inanity. 
They  spend  much  of  the  time  during  the  pleasant  season 


THE  IDIOT  ASYLUM. 


5b7 


in  the  play-ground  sot  apart  for  them,  a  portion  of  which  is 
covered  with  canvass  to  screen  them  from  the  sun.  Those 
admitted  to  the  school  enter  the  primary  class,  from  which 
most  of  them  are  afterwards  advanced  to  the  two  higher 
classes.  The  first  lessons  taught  are  cleanliness,  order,  and 
obedience,  of  which  many  of  them  seem  to  have  no  previous 
conceptions.    The  next  consist  of  color  and  form. 

Many  idiots  have  an  infantile  fondness  for  bright  colors, 
hence  these  afford  a  medium  for  instruction.  As  they  have 
no  mental  control  and  are  destitute  of  all  analytical  qualities, 
the  common  order  of  teaching  must  be  reversed,  hence  words 
are  taught  before  the  letters.  A  card  containing  the  words 
"chair,"  "hand,"  "book,"  or  "jtable,"  printed  in  large  bright 
letters,  is  held  up  before  them,  by  which  means  they  are  at 
length  taught  the  names  and  definitions  of  things.  The  mat- 
ter of  speech  is  often  difficult,  as  many  of  them  have  impedi- 
ments. The  success  of  this  school  during  the  first  four  years 
of  its  history  is  surprising.  The  author  visited  it  in  1868, 
and  again  in  IS 70.  The  school  at  the  second  visit  exhibited 
marked  improvement.  The  scholars  were  all  tidy  and 
orderly,  their  countenances  having  perceptibly  brightened. 
We  asked  them  various  questions  in  geography  which  were 
promptly  answered.  The  advanced  class  read  from  the  large 
Reader,  in  a  creditable  manner.  In  singing  they  almost  ex- 
cel, following  the  instrument  with  great  exactness.  Many 
make  fine  progress  in  penmanship,  and  a  few  study  instru- 
mental music.  One  of  the  girls,  who  began  as  an  ordinary 
pupil  four  years  since,  is  now  a  teacher  in  one  of  the  depart- 
ments. Mathematics  are  the  most  difficult  things  for  them 
to  learn,  in  which  they  seldom  make  much  progress.  A  few 
able  to  pay  board  have  been  admitted  at  the  moderate  rate 
of  eight  dollars  per  month.  More  of  this  unfortunate  class 
exist  in  community  than  is  generally  supposed,  probably 
several  to  every  one  thousand  of  the  population.  Idiot 
schools  are  valuable,  raising  many  to  thoughts  and  toil  who 
had  hitherto  been  totally  neglected,  offering  also  the  only  test 
by  which  a  proper  discrimination  can  be  made  between  the 
true  idiot  and  persons  of  feeble  mind  or  of  slow  and  imper- 
fect development.  The  Commissioners  have  performed  a 
commendable  service  in  the  establishment  of  this  school, 
and  have  been  remarkably  successful  in  their  selection  of 
teachers. 


SOCIETY  FOR  THE  REFORMATION  OF  JUVENILE  DELINQUENTS. 

{Randoms  Island. ) 


\  BIS  HE  House  of  Refuge,  under  the  control  of  the  "  So- 
'ffl  ciety  for  the  Reformation  of  J uvenile  Delinquents," 
is  situated  on  the  southern  portion  of  Randall's  Is- 
land,  thirty  acres  of  land  being  connected  with  the 
Institution.  The  Society,  one  of  the  most  beneficent  and 
humane  in  the  world,  was  incorporated  in  1824,  with  power 
of  self-perpetuation.  Among  its  managers  have  ranked 
many  of  the  wisest  and  purest  men  of  the  State,  who,  with- 
out pecuniary  compensation,  have  devoted  a  large  portion  of 
their  time  to  its  interests  for  years,  and  the  records  of  their 
proceedings  for  nearly  half  a  century  exhibit  the  most  grati- 
fying results.  Its  first  building  was  erected  in  Madison 
Square,  where  it  continued  fifteen  years,  until  the  growing 
city  forced  the  managers  to  evacuate,  when  they  withdrew 
to  Twenty-third  street  and  East  river.  Here  another  fifteen 
were  spent,  until  straitened  for  room,  after  much  search 
and  discussion,  it  was  resolved  to  remove  the  whole  to  Ran- 
dall's Island,  which  was  substantially  accomplished  in  1854. 
Thousands  of  children  in  our  great  cities  and  towns  are  con- 
stantly growing  up  in  ignorance  and  neglect,  many  homes 
being  little  less  than  schools  of  vice.  A  consciousness  of 
guilt,  attended  with  imprisonment  and  disgrace,  crushes  what 
little  of  self-respect  and  laudable  ambition  may  yet  remain. 
To  hurl  these  truant  youth  into  a  penitentiary,  filled  with  ma- 
ture and  expert  criminals,  is  but  to  cultivate  their  treache- 
rous tendencies,  and  insure  their  final  ruin.  This  society 
comes  at  the  opportune  moment  to  open  the  gates  of  its  City 
of  Refuge  to  those  youthful  unfortunates  who  are  brought 
before  the  courts  for  petit  offences,  and  receives  them,  not 
for  punishment,  but  for  instruction,  discipline,  and  reforma- 
tion. The  departments  are  well  arranged  and  most  admira- 
bly conducted,  presenting  at  every  turn  some  striking  exam- 
ple of  system  and  tidiness.  Visitors  are  politely  received, 
but  however  distinguished  they  may  be,  no  change  is  made 
in  the  daily  routine  of  the  Institution.  Everything  is  on  ex- 
hibition in  it3  ordinary  field  parade.  The  buildings  are  of 
brick,  constructed  on  a  magnificent  scale  in  the  Italian  style, 


SOCIETY  FOR  REFORMATION  OF  JUVENILE  DELINQUENTS.  569 

the  two  principal  structures  presenting  a  graceful  facade 
nearly  a  thousand  feet  in  length,  the  whole  completed  at  an 
expense  of  half  a  million.  There  are  eight  hundred  and 
eighty-six  spacious,  well-ventilated  dormitories,  several  finely 
arranged  and  amply  furnished  school-rooms,  appropriate 
hospital  departments,  dining  halls,  kitchens,  bakeries,  laun- 
dries, sewing-rooms,  elegant  apartments  for  officers,  and  a 
model  chapel,  with  seating  for  a  thousand  persons.  In  the 
rear  stand  the  workshops,  each  thirty  feet  wide  by  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  long,  and  three  stories  high.  The  boys  and 
girls  are  kept  in  separate  buildings,  their  respective  yards  be- 
ing divided  by  high  walls,  and  the  more  advanced  of  the 
latter,  who  have  been  guilty  of  social  crime,  are  carefully 
separated  from  the  more  youthful.  Every  child  upon  its  ad- 
mission is  made  to  feel  that  the  period  of  its  detention  rests 
with  itself.  Two  general  rules  are  at  once  and  always  incul- 
cated. First,  "  Tell  no  lies."  Secondly,  "  Always  do  the 
best  you  can."  Every  child  is  compelled  to  toil  from  six  to 
eight  hours  every  week-day,  at  some  employment  suited  to  its 
capacity,  and  to  study  from  four  to  five  hours,  under  compe- 
tent teachers.  The  labor  is  designed  to  tame  their  fiery,  vi- 
cious natures,  to  quicken  attention,  and  favorably  rouse  all  the 
-dormant  elements  of  their  being.  As  moderate  stints  are  in- 
troduced, affording  opportunity  to  redeem  extra  time  for 
reading  and  play,  they  toil  with  a  cheerfulness  and  speed 
that  is  highly  exhilarating.  Thus  sobered  and  awakened  by 
toil,  they  return  to  their  books,  and  keep  pace  with  those 
who  reside  at  home  and  attend  the  public  schools  of  New 
York.  Hundreds  of  young  men  and  women  are  at  work  in 
the  city  and  elsewhere  rising  to  respectability  and  affluence 
by  the  steady  habits  and  trades  they  acquired  at  the  Institu- 
tion, the  former  earning  from  twelve  to  twenty  dollars  per 
week,  and  the  latter  from  four  to  twelve.  Four  grades  of 
conduct  have  been  introduced.  Grade  1  is  the  highest,  which 
every  child  must  retain  at  least  six  weeks,  and  attain  to  the 
third  class  in  school,  before  any  application  for  indenture 
will  be  entertained  from  parents  or  friends.  This  grade 
must  also  be  retained  for  one  year,  and  the  studies  of  the 
highest  class  mastered  before  one  is  discharged,  and  then  a 
situation  is  provided.  Grade  4  is  the  lowest,  and  is  one  of 
disgrace. 

the  society  opened  its  first  building  on  New  Year's  day, 
1825,  with  six  wretched  girls  and  three  boys.    During  the 


570 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


first  fifteen  years  of  its  operations,  it  received  and  again  re- 
turned to  society  two  thousand  five  hundred.  When  it  re- 
moved to  Randall's  Island,  about  six  thousand  had  been 
received,  and  up  to  January,  1873,  no  less  than  14,675.  An 
average  of  three  hundred  per  annum  have  thus  been  returned 
to  the  community  since  the  first  organization  of  the  society, 
and  we  are  told  that  at  least  seventy-five  per  cent,  of  them 
have  lived  honest  and  useful  lives.  The  good  accomplished 
for  the  country  and  humanity  is  incalculable.  The  sons  of 
eminent  merchants  and  lawyers,  and  of  distinguished  divines, 
have  taken  lessons  here  to  their  lasting  advantage  ;  while  not 
a  few  from  the  haunts  of  infamy,  who  would  but  for  this 
model  "  Bethesda "  have  gone  frightfully  down  the  slippery 
steeps  of  crime,  have  been  raised  to  sit  among  the  princes  of 
the  land.  The  sanitary  interests  of  the  Institution  have  al- 
ways been  conducted  with  remarkable  success.  During  the 
first  ten  years  of  its  history  but  five  deaths  occurred,  and  in 
1832,  out  of  ninety-nine  cases  of  cholera,  only  two  proved 
fatal.  The  report  of  1869  showed,  that  of  the  seventeen  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  different  inmates  of  the  year,  but  three 
had  died,  and  during  the  year  closing  1873,  but  four  died. 
But  without  the  transforming  influence  of  pure  Christianity, 
all  efforts  for  the  reformation  of  delinquents  must  prove 
sadly  abortive. 

This  Institution  is,  in  its  faith  and  practice,  eminently 
Protestant,  and  most  of  its  officers  and  teacher  are  persons  of 
established  Christian  character.  Rev.  B.  K.  Pierce,  D.D., 
a  man  of  rare  culture  and  long  experience  in  this  difficult 
work,  was  for  nearly  ten  years  its  chaplain,  but  after  the 
unhappy  sectarian  revolt  of  May,  1872,  he  resigned,  and  his 
place  has  been  filled  by  Rev.  George  H.  Smythe.  Mr.  I.  C. 
Jones,  the  successful  superintendent,  is  also  a  man  of  more 
than  ordinary  culture  and  ability. 

Sabbath  at  the  Refuge  is  a  day  of  delightful,  hallowed  rest. 
Once  on  that  day  all  join  in  Sunday-School  study  and  recita- 
tion, and  once  they  crowd  their  beautiful  chapel,  when  a  thou- 
sand faces  are  turned  toward  the  man  of  God,  and  a  thousand 
voices  join  in  liturgical  responses.  Many  have  been  hopefully 
converted,  and  several  who  were  once  inmates  of  the  Institu- 
tion are  now  studying  for  the  Christian  ministry. 

With  the  multiplication  of  reformatory  Institutions,  and 
some  unjust  disparagements,  a  smaller  number  of  youth  than 


60CIETY  FOE  EEFOKMATION  OF  JUVENILE  DELINQUENTS.  571 


formerly  are  being  received  from  the  New  York  courts.  As 
the  supply  is  undiminished,  we  can  but  regard  this  as  a  public 
mistake.  In  the  matter  of  economy,  the  Refuge  is  conducted 
with  remarkable  ability.  Daring  the  last  seven  years,  the 
net  cost  of  each  child,  above  its  own  earnings,  has  but  little 
exceeded  seventy  dollars  per  annum,  while  the  gross  cost  has 
varied  from  $116.20  in  1867,  to  $131.13  in  1870,  according 
to  the  number  in  the  Institution.  About  twelve  thousand 
dollars  have,  until  recently,  been  annually  received  from  the 
license  of  theaters.  In  addition  to  this,  the  sums  contributed 
from  the  city  treasury  and  the  school  fund  have,  united,  been 
annually  less  than  twenty  dollars  per  capita,  while  the 
Catholic  Protectory  has  been  paid  $110  for  each  child,  and 
the  Commissioners  of  Charities  and  Corrections  have  ex- 
pended over  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  per  annum  on 
each  child,  in  the  Industrial  school  at  Hart  Island  and  on  the 
school-ship.  This  comparison  speaks  volumes  in  favor  of  the 
Refuge,  inasmuch  as  it  greatly  surpasses  both  the  Institutions 
mentioned  in  the  appliances  of  personal  comfort,  while  in 
matters  of  culture,  discipline,  building  up  of  character,  and 
thoroughness  of  skilled  labor,  it  probably  surpasses  every  In 
stitution  of  its  kind  in  the  country. 

The  Managers  propose,  if  appropriate  legislation  can  bfv 
secured,  to  somewhat  enlarge  their  Institution,  and  receive  a 
class  of  delinquents  still  more  advanced  in  crime  and  years. 
They  fully  believe  that  multitudes  of  young  men,  who  have 

frown  up  without  employment  and  are  sent  annually  to  the 
'enitentiary  to  be  further  confirmed  in  treachery,  might  in 
a  well-conducted  reformatory  be  taught  the  arts  of  skilled 
labor,  mellowed  by  the  appliances  of  Christianity,  and  saved 
for  time  and  eternity.  Who  with  a  well-balanced  head  and 
suitably  affected  heart  can  for  a  moment  doubt  it  ?  A  society 
so  intent  on  the  accomplishment  of  its  great  work,  and  so  rich 
in  desirable  fruits,  deserves  well  of  the  public,  and  should  not 
be  crippled  in  any  of  the  appliances  necessary  to  its  highest 
success  It  is  the  pioneer  of  its  kind  ;  the  twenty  other  simi- 
lar Institutions,  with  their  many  thousand  inmates  in  this 
country  as  well  as  those  of  Europe,  have  grown  up  through 
its  example.  Its  managers  and  friends,  in  molding  their 
economy,  have  sought  to  incorporate  the  lessons  they  have 
industriously  culled  from  the  experience  and  wisdom  of  ages. 
Long  may  it  flourish  to  elevate  the  fallen  and  enrich  the 
world. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
INSTITUTIONS  ON  HART  ISLAND. 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  SCHOOL  AND  THE  SCHOOVSHIP. 


imRpHE  number  of  vagrant,  vicious,  and  adventurous  cliil- 
^OJg|  dren  around  New  York  is  so  great,  that  a  new  insti- 
Stfi?]3k  tution  for  their  correction  and  reformation  springs  up 
every  few  years,  and  though  thousands  are  from  these 
annually  sent  to  the  country,  the  buildings  are  always  full,  and 
the  supply  well  nigh  inexhaustible.  For  years  past  a  class  of 
large  vicious  boys  have  been  thrown  on  the  hands  of  the  Com- 
missioners of  Charities  and  Corrections,  for  whom  it  lias  been 
difficult  to  well  and  suitably  provide.  If  sent  to  the  Work- 
house or  Penitentiary,  they  would  be  further  steeped  in  evil, 
and  if  sent  to  the  Nurseries,  their  insubordination  incited  the 
younger  and  more  dutiful  to  mischief  and  demoralization. 
Kence,  after  the  purchase  of  Hart  Island,  which  occurred  in 
May,  1868,  they  were  placed  there  in  the  capacity  of  an  In- 
dustrial School.  On  this  Island  the  Potter's  Field  has  been 
located,  separate  sections  having  been  set  apart  for  Catholic 
and  Protestant  burial.  The  southern  portion,  during  the 
spring  and  early  summer  of  1S70,  was  also  set  apart  for  the 
treatment  of  persons  suffering  with  relapsing  fever.  The  Is- 
land contained  at  the  time  of  its  purchase  more  than  sixfr** 
buildings  of  wood,  constructed  by  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment for  the  use  of  the  soldiers,  and  said  to  have  cost  over 
$200,000.  The  dilapidated  buildings  were  pulled  down,  and 
the  sound  material  employed  in  repairing  other  buildings. 
Those  formerly  occupied  by  the  officers  of  the  army  and  navy 
of  the  barracks  were  excellent  structures  of  their  kind,  and 
were  easily  converted  to  the  uses  for  which  they  were  desired. 
The  buildings  formerly  occupied  by  the  officers  are  now  \\<e 
residences  of  the  warden,  matron,  ter.chers,  surgeoi-,  clerks, 
etc.  Others  have  been  changed  to  school-rooms,  dormitories, 
play-rooms,  dining-rooms,  and  'wo  houses  for  baking  and 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  SCHOOL  AND  THE  3CH00L-SHD?.  573 

cooking.  A  large  ice-house  has  been  erected,  capable  of  con 
taining  a  hundred  tons  of  that  invaluable  antidote  to  mid- 
summer heats.  The  school  began  late  in  the  year  1868,  and 
on  the  31st  of  December,  1869,  the  warden  reported  the  recep- 
tion of  504  boys.  The  utter  neglect  under  which  they  had 
thus  far  grown  up  appears  in  the  fact  that  seventy-five  per 
cent,  of  them  could  neither  read  nor  write,  fifteen  per  cent,  able 
to  read  only,  leaving  but  ten  per  cent,  in  tolerable  possession 
of  the  rudiments  of  an  education.  They  are  kept  in  school 
five  hours  per  day,  devoting  the  remainder  to  play  or  light 
labor.  A  vigorous  system  of  discipline  has  been  introduced, 
but  no  very  serious  corporal  punishment  is  inflicted.  During 
the  last  year,  972  boys  were  received  into  the  school. 

Many  boys  in  each  generation  are  wild  and  adventurous  in 
their  natures,  fond  of  excitements  and  dangers,  and  who  will 
not  sober  down  to  the  quietudes  of  ordinary  industry.  Neg- 
lected, they  become  the  roughs,  harbor  thieves,  pirates,  and 
fillibusterers  of  the  world.  As  early  as  1812,  Rev.  Dr.  Stan- 
ford, chaplain  of  the  penal  institutions  of  New  York,  recom- 
mended the  separation  of  the  youthful  criminals  from  those 
more  advanced,  and  urged  the  importance  of  training  this 
adventurous  class  in  a  nautical  ship  for  service  on  the  sea. 
But  reforms  "  hasten  slowly,"  and  though  a  citizen  of  Man- 
hattan was  the  first  to  originate  and  recommend  the  plan  of 
a  training  ship,  the  authorities  of  New  York  lingered  until 
the  experiment  had  been  successfully  tried  in  England  and 
in  Massachusetts.  Under  authority  conferred  by  the  Legisla- 
ture, the  Commissioners,  in  July,  1869,  purchased  the  sail-ship 
Mercury,  formerly  belonging  to  the  Havre  line  of  packets,  a 
fine  vessel  of  1,200  tons  burden,  which  they  have  fitted  for 
this  service.  The  vessel  is  calculated  to  accommodate  250  or 
300  boys,  besides  the  usual  complement  of  officers  and  drilled 
sailors.  The  boys,  whose  features  for  the  most  part  show  their 
foreign  origin  and  treacherous  tendencies,  are  all  clothed  in 
bright  sailor's  uniform,  and  governed  on  the  apprenticeship 
system  of  the  United  States  Navy.  From  the  Industrial 
School  they  are  transferred  to  the  school-ship,  where  a  year 
or  two  of  good  drilling  is  expected,  to  fit  the  more  advanced 
for  useful  service  in  the  Merchant  Marine,  or  in  the  United 
States  Navy.  The  vessel  has  already  made  several  trips  to  sea, 
remaining  oucside  the  bar  on  one  cruise  four  months  At 
the  1st  of  January  last,  826  boys  had  been  received  on  board, 
and  565  discharged,  many  of  whom  had  shipped  as  sailors  in 


574 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


the  United  States  Navy,  and  others  had  entered  the  Merchants' 
Marine. 

The  daily  routine  adopted  in  port  is  as  follows :  At  early 
daylight  the  reveille  is  beaten,  all  hands  are  called,  and  ham- 
mocks properly  stowed  by  the  Captains  of  Tops  and  other 
petty  officers,  to  whom  this  duty  belongs.  This  done,  when 
the  weather  will  permit,  the  decks  are  washed  down,  and  if 
"  Wash  Clothes  Day,"  hammocks  and  clothing  are  scrubbed, 
and  triced  up  on  the  lines,  while  the  boys  are  compelled  to 
cleanse  their  persons,  under  the  superintendence  of  the  Offi- 
cer of  the  Deck.  At  7.30  a.m.,  the  boys  are  mustered,  the 
line  formed,  and  at  8  a.m.,  breakfast  is  piped  and  the  boys 
marched  to  their  respective  messes  on  the  berth-deck.  This 
is  in  the  charge  of  the  Master  at  Arms  and  ship's  Corporals, 
whose  duty  it  is  to  preserve  order  there  at  all  times.  One 
hour  is  allowed  the  boys  for  the  morning  meal  and  recreation. 
At  9  a.m.,  the  "  hands  are  turned  to,"  sweepers  are  piped,  and 
the  decks  cleaned  fore  and  aft.  Ten  minutes  before  "  Colors," 
the  drummer  beats  their  call,  hands  stand  by  to  lower  boats, 
Quartermasters  bend  on  their  colors,  Coxswains  report  boats 
ready  for  lowering,  sail  loosers  are  sent  aloft,  when  necessary ; 
lower  booms  got  ready  for  going  out,  one  hand  stationed  by 
the  bell.  At  9  a.m.  in  winter,  at  8  a.m.  in  summer,  the  drum- 
mer rolls  off,  the  bell  is  struck ;  at  the  third  roll  colors  hoisted, 
boats  lowered,  sails  let  fall,  and  booms  rigged  out,  to  which 
the  boats  when  lowered  are  hauled  and  made  fast.  The  boys 
now  take  their  cleaning  stations,  warned  by  the  roll  of  the 
drum  of  their  duties,  and  polish  all  bright  work  fore  and  aft. 
The  ship's  company  are  divided  into  divisions,  called  the  First; 
Second  ;  Third,  or  Master's ;  Fourth,  or  Boatswain's ;  Fifth,  or 
Powder  Division,  commanded  respectively  by  the  Second  and 
Third  officers,  Sailing  Master,  Boatswain,  and  Master-at-Arms. 
At  9.30  a.m.,  the  drummer  beats  to  quarters  for  inspection, 
allowing  the  boys  three  minutes  to  gain  their  stations,  where 
they  are  inspected  and  mustered  by  their  respective  officers, 
whose  duty  it  is  to  see  that  their  persons  and  clothing  are 
clean  and  in  good  order,  and  that  all  are  present  to  answer 
the  muster,  being  careful  to  report  all  delinquents  and  absen- 
tees to  the  Executive  Officer,  who  in  turn  reports  to  the  Cap- 
tain the  condition  of  the  ship  and  the  divisions.  The  "  Re- 
treat "  is  now  beaten,  and  the  Starboard  Watch  is  formed  in 
line  and  marched  into  the  school-room,  where  they  remain  at 
their  studies  in  charge  of  the  Instructor  until  11.45  a.m.,  the 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  SCHOOL  AND  THE  SCHOOL-SHTP.  575 


Port  Watch  in  the  meantime  being  engaged  on  deck  woi king 
masts,  yards  or  sails,  or  drilling  with  the  great  guns,  small 
arms,  etc. 

At  11.30  a.m.,  the  dinner  is  inspected,  and  if  properly- 
cooked,  ordered  to  be  issued  to  the  messes ;  sweepers  are 
piped  and  all  work  ceases ;  decks  are  cleared,  and  the  mess- 
cloths  spread.  At  meridian,  dinner  is  piped,  and  the  boys 
sent  to  their  messes  as  at  the  morning  meal ;  at  1  p.m.,  the 
"  hands  are  again  turned  to,"  while  the  sweeper  in  response 
to  the  pipes  of  the  Boatswain  and  his  mates,  clean  the  decks ; 
the  Port  Watch  is  now  formed  and  sent  to  the  school-room, 
while  the  Starboard  Watch  is  called  on  deck,  and  receive 
practical  lessons  in  seamanship  and  the  various  exercises  and 
drill.  At  4  p.m.,  school  is  dismissed,  decks  cleared  up,  and  at 
4.30  p.m.,  supper  is  piped  ;  the  evening  hours  are  devoted  to 
recreation ;  games  of  various  kinds  being  provided  for  those 
disposed  to  avail  themselves  of  the  same. 

At  fifteen  minutes  before  sundown,  the  drum  beats  to  quar- 
ters for  inspection,  when  the  usual  notes  are  made,  and  re- 
ports given  to  the  Executive  and  Captain.  At  ten  minutes 
before  sundown,  the  "  call "  is  beaten,  lower  booms  got  ready 
for  coming  alongside,  boats  hooked  on,  Quartermasters  stand 
by  their  colors,  and  at  the  third  roll  of  the  drum  the  booms 
are  rigged  in,  boats  hoisted,  colors  hauled  down,  and  the  boys 
are  called  to  stand  by  their  hammocks,  when  they  assemble  in 
their  own  parts  of  the  ship,  and  hammocks  being  piped  down, 
they  are  removed  to  the  Berth-Deck,  and  hung  on  hooks  bear- 
ing their  respective  numbers. 

The  remainder  of  the  evening  is  devoted  to  recreation,  all 
work  being  laid  aside  for  the  day.  At  7.30  p.m.,  the  boys 
are  assembled  for  evening  exercises,  which  are  held  in  the 
school-room,  consisting  of  singing  and  prayer,  conducted  by 
the  Instructor. 

At  8  p.m.,  the  tattoo  is  beaten,  Boatswain  and  mates  pipe 
down,  the  boys  are  sent  to  their  hammocks,  the  "  anchor 
watch  "  is  set  for  the  night,  all  unauthorized  lights  and  galley- 
fires  are  reported  "out "  by  the  Master- at- Arms,  and  the  night 
reports  of  the  petty-officers  as  to  the  condition  of  their  several 
departments  are  made  to  the  Executive  At  one  bell  (8.30 
p.m.),  all  loud  talking  must  cease  ;  the  bertn-deck  is  in  charge 
of  the  ship's  Corporals  for  the  night,  who  keep  watch  there 
until  regularly  relieved,  paying  strict  attention  to  the  condi- 
tion of  the  lights,  and  inspecting  the  ship  below  the  spar-deck 

37 


576 


NEW  YOEK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


every  haif  hour  ;  being  particularly  careful  that  no  irregular!, 
ties  occur  on  the  decks  in  their  charge. 

Every  boy  when  received  on  board  is  cleansed,  and  a  com- 
plete outfit  given  him  of  clothing,  suitable  for  the  weathei 
and  season  of  the  year ;  he  is  given  a  number  and  a  station 
on  the  watch,  quarter,  and  fire-bells ;  he  is  detailed  to  a  cer- 
tain mess,  and  placed  in  a  certain  boat,  while  he  is,  when  ad- 
mitted to  the  school-room,  placed  in  such  classes  as  his  abili- 
ties will  admit  of.  In  all  the  maneuvers  and  exercises  he 
must  be  at  his  station ;  his  number  at  the  gun  must  be  filled, 
his  station  aloft  must  be  supplied,  and  his  absence  from  any  of 
these  duties  is  at  once  detected ;  no  idle  hands  are  permitted, 
no  one  is  without  a  duty ;  from  the  time  that  the  lad  receives 
his  number,  which  is  immediately  on  his  admission  into  the 
ship,  he  is  entirely  under  control  and  subject  to  orders. 

The  ship's  company  is  divided  into  two  watches,  called  Port 
and  Starboard,  and  these  are  sub-divided  into  first  and  second 
parts,  forming  quarter  watches,  which  facilitates  at  times  the 
duty  of  the  ship.  There  are  other  sub-divisions,  into  winch 
the  boys  are  separated  according  to  their  stations,  as  follows : 
Forecastle-men,  foretop-men,  maintop-men,  mizzentop-men 
and  afterguard.  Each  of  these  divisions  are  headed  by  a  first 
and  second  Captain,  the  first  Captain  being  in  the  Starboard 
Watch,  and  the  second  Captain  in  the  Port  Watch.  All  orders 
to  be  executed  in  a  certain  part  of  the  ship  are  issued  to  the 
Captain  of  the  same,  whose  duty  it  becomes  to  see  that  the 
boys  stationed  under  him  perform  them,  reporting  to  the  offi- 
cer of  the  deck  when  finished. 

Precautions  are  taken  against  fire,  by  having  stations  for 
fire-quarters  and  duties  assigned  every  officer,  seaman,  and 
boy  on  board,  with  frequent  drilling  at  quelling  this  danger- 
ous element. 

Divine  service  is  held  on  Sunday  in  the  school-room  at  10 
a.m.,  and  again  in  the  evening  at  6.30  p.m.,  the  peculiar  relig- 
ious tenets  of  all  respected,  and  religious  instruction  imparted 
by  both  Protestant  and  Catholic  clergymen,  who  are  granted 
access  to  the  ship  for  this  purpose  at  all  times. 

Nothing  has  been  left  undone  that  would  enhance  the 
comfort  of  the  boys  or  assist  them  in  their  studies.  Every 
encouragement  is  held  out  to  them,  and  liberty  on  shore  and 
other  privileges  granted  to  the  deserving,  while  advancement 
to  the  grade  of  petty  officer  awaits  the  ambitious  pupil.  Posi- 
tions, though  they  entail  an  additional  responsibility,  bring 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  SCHOOL  AND  THE  SCHOOL-SHIP.  577 


Kith  them  certain  privileges  and  distinctions  which  make 
them  objects  of  desire  to  the  aspiring  lad. 

The  food  furnished,  the  boys  is  or  a  good  quality  and  the 
supply  is  ample,  and  provided  in  accordance  with  the  sugges- 
tions of  a  medical  officer  of  acknowledged  ability.  JBoys 
from  a  few  wealthy  families  have  been  admitted  whose  par- 
ents pay  $10  per  month  for  their  subsistence  and  instruction. 
It  is  probable  that  an  independent  ship  could  be  made  to  pay  as 
well  as  an  academy.  The  boys  take  great  pleasure  in  going 
aloft  to  spread  or  furl  the  sails.  We  saw  from  a  distance  a 
hundred  or  less  of  them  engaged  in  this  exercise.  The  spars, 
tackling,  and  napping  sails,  united  to  the  rapid  movement  of 
the  boys,  presented  the  appearance  of  a  handful  of  black  ants 
caught  and  struggling  for  dear  life  amid  the  meshes  of  a 
great  cob -web. 

Much  interest  is  being  manifested  in  all  parts  of  the  coun- 
try in  the  great  undertaking,  as  is  frequently  shown  by  the 
numerous  letters  received  from  this  and  adjacent  States,  to- 
gether with  the  visits  received  from  many  distinguished  citi- 
zens, all  of  whom  are  unanimous  in  their  approbation  of  this 
philanthropic  enterprise.  Delegates  from  adjacent  States 
have  journeyed  some  distance  to  examine  into  the  leading 
features  of  this  Institution,  and  returned  to  their  own  cities  to 
indorse  the  movement  and  recommend  a  like  action  on  the 
part  of  their  authorities.    One  has  well  said  : 

"  The  Commissioners  deserve  the  thanks  of  the  community 
for  having  added  this  to  the  many  other  noble  public  chari- 
ties which  are  receiving  the  benefit  of  their  wise  and  efficient 
administration.  It  would  be  difficult  to  exaggerate  the  ad- 
vantages likely  to  accrue  to  the  public  from  a  benevolence 
which,  receiving  these  neglected,  vagrant,  and  degraded  boys, 
shall  shield  them  for  a  season  from  the  rough  blasts  of  temp- 
tation, teach  them  their  duty  to  God  and  man,  impart  to  them 
the  principles  of  a  noble  science,  train  them  to  skill  in  the  ap- 
plication of  those  principles,  and,  finally,  opening  to  them  a 
path  of  honorable  usefulness,  shall  bid  them  go  forth  and 
walk  therein,  to  the  honor  of  God  and  the  benefit  of  their 
fellow  men,  'The  very  qualities  of  sagacity  and  daring,  of 
earnestness  imd  enthusiasm,  which,  under  their  former  evil 
training,  were  likely  to  render  them  a  pest  as  well  as  a  terror 
to  the  community,  will  no  doubt,  in  numerous  instances,  con- 
stitute a  vigorous  impulse  to  push  them  forward  and  give  them 
success  in  their  new  career  of  virtue,  honor,  and  usefulness." 


CHAPTER  X. 


NEW  YORK  INSTITUTIONS  ON  STATEN  ISLAND. 
SAILOR'S  SNUG  HARBOR. 
(Staten  Island.) 

Sailors,  though  a  very  useful  and  industrious  class,  rank, 
among  the  most  reckless  and  improvident  of  the  world 
Without  them  the  commerce  of  the  world  could  not  be  con- 
ducted ;  and  while  a  few  of  them  have  always  been  noted 
for  their  intelligence,  piety,  and  thrift,  the  vast  majority  have 
ever  been  literally  afloat — creatures  of  accident,  drifting 
hither  and  thither  wherever  caprice  or  fancy  might  carry 
them  They  rarely  have  many  friends,  except  those  who 
participate  in  their  vices,  and  help  to  squander  their  hard 
earnings.  Sailors  are  proverbially  reckless  of  health,  exces- 
sively given  to  dissipation  and  sensuality  while  01  shore, 
exposed  to  the  vicissitudes  of  changing  climates  while  aX  sea; 
add  to  these,  then,  the  danger  of  other  casualties,  and  their 


sailor's  snug  harbor. 


579 


life- long  improvidence,  and  it  will  be  clear  that  most  of  them 
must  early  become  inmates  of  hospitals,  and  objects  of 
charity.  More  than  two  hundred  thousand  sailors  aunually 
enter  the  New  York  harbor,  many  of  whom  are  in  need 
of  medical  or  surgical  aid.  To  provide  for  this  want  the 
Marine  Hospital  was  established,  and  the  Seaman's  Re- 
treat founded.  Still  a  place  of  rest  where  the  crippled  or 
worn-out  tar  might  in  quietude  spend  the  evening  twilight  of 
his  career  was  greatly  needed.  It  remained  for  a  noble 
hearted  bachelor-sailor  (more  careful  and  successful  than 
most  of  his  fellows),  to  establish  for  these  cast-off  wrecks  of 
the  sea  a  home,  unrivalled  in  the  world  in  the  beauty  of  its 
.location,  and  the  abundance  of  its  comforts. 

Captain  Robert  Richard  Randall,  of  New  York  City,  by 
the  provision  of  his  will,  dated  June  1,  1801,  bequeathed 
(certain  specific  legacies  being  satisfied)  all  the  residue  of  his 
estate,  real  and  personal,  to  the  Chancellor  of  the  State,  the 
Mayor  and  Recorder  of  the  city,  the  President  of  the  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce,  the  President  of  the  Marine  Society,  the 
Senior  Ministers  of  the  Episcopal  and  of  the  Presbyterian 
Churches  of  New  York,  and  to  their  successors  in  office 
respectively,  to  be  received  by  them  in  trust,  and  applied  to 
the  erection  of  an  Asylum  or  Marine  Hospital,  to  be  called 
"  The  Sailor's  Snug  Harbor,"  the  same  to  be  opened  as  soon 
as  the  income  of  the  estate  should,  in  the  judgment  of  the 
trustees,  be  sufficient  to  support  fifty  seamen.  Mr.  Randall's 
real  estate  was  situated  in  what  is  now  the  First  and  Fif- 
teenth wards  of  the  city  of  New  York,  and  consisted  of 
certain  building  lots  in  the  former,  and  of  twenty-one  acres 
of  land  in  the  latter.  The  trustees  were  duly  incorporated 
February  6,  180(5.  Protractive  and  expensive  suits,  brought 
by  the  relatives  of  the  testator,  prevented  the  trustees  from 
carrying  out  his  wishes  for  many  years  after  his  decease. 
The  United  States'  Supreme  Court  finally  decided  in  favor  of 
the  trust  in  March,  1830.  The  Asylum  was  to  have  been 
erected  on  his  up-town  property,  situated  south  of  what  is  now 
Union  Square,  and  between  Fourth  and  Sixth  avenues,  but 
the  unexpected  growth  of  the  city,  and  the  consequent  in- 
crease in  the  value  of  real  estate,  induced  the  trustees  to  lease 
the  city  property  and  locate  the  Institution  elsewhere.  The 
estate  at  the  decease  of  the  testator  was  valued  at  about 
$30,000,  but  it  is  now  estimated  at  about  $2,000,000.  It 
may  be  interesting  to  know  that  the  colossal  retail  store  ol 


580 


*>1W   TOKF   AXD  ITS  7TJSTITPTIONS. 


A.  T.  Stewart,  Esq.,  corner  Tenth  sheet  and  Broadway,  stands 
on  a  part  of  this  property,  and  that  an  annual  ground-rent  is 
paid  by  this  gentleman  of  about  $35,3  DO.  The  income  of  the 
estate  is  still  steadily  increasing.  In  May,  1831,  the  trustees 
purchased  a  farm  of  130  acres,  to  which  twenty-one  acres 
were  subsequently  added,  situated  on  the  northern  shore  of 
Staten  Island,  for  the  sum  of  $6,000. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  Asylum  was  laid  with  appropriate 
exercises  October  21,  1831,  and  on  the  first  day  of  August, 
1833,  the  building  was  formally  opened  for  the  reception  of 
the  thirty  sailors  approved  by  a  committee  appointed  for  that 
purpose.  The  main  building  consists  of  a  central,  65  by  100 
feet,  three  stories  above  the  basement,  and  of  two  wings 
51  by  100  feet  each,  two  and  a  half  stories  high,  the  parts 
being  connected  with  corridors  40  feet  long  by  16  wide, 
giving  a  total  frontage  of  247  feet.  The  building  stands  on 
a  graceful  eminence ;  its  front  is  of  marble,  with  a  majestic 
portico  ornamented  with  eight  massive  Ionic  columns,  pre- 
senting a  palatial  aspect  as  seen  from  the  bay.  In  the  rear 
of  the  main  edifice  is  a  three-story  brick,  80  feet  square,  erected 
in  1854,  in  the  basement  of  which  are  the  Steward's  office 
and  the  great  kitchen  of  the  establishment,  furnished  with 
an  ample  supply  of  steam-kettles.  The  first  floor  of  this 
building  contains  the  dining-rooms,  and  the  other  floors  con- 
tain dormitories,  which  are  mostly  large,  square  rooms,  con- 
taining four  beds  each.  This  building  is  connected  with  the 
main  edifice  by  a  covered  passage-way.  A  little  to  the  right 
of  this  stands  the  chapel,  a  fine  brick,  with  seating  for  several 
hundred  persons,  and  adjoining  stands  a  well-arranged  par- 
sonage for  the  use  of  the  chaplain.  Further  back  stand  the 
wash-house  and  the  bake-house,  each  two  stories,  of  brick, 
and  well  arranged.  Still  further  to  the  rear  stands  the 
hospital,  erected  twenty  years  ago.  It  is  a  well-built  three- 
story  brick,  with  heavy  granite  trimmings,  and  contains  space 
for  seventy-five  beds.  Sixty-one  persons  are  now  in  the  hos- 
pital, some  of  whom  have  been  under  treatment  thirty  years. 
Our  attention  was  called  to  grandfather  Morris,  a  colored 
sailor,  one  hundred  and  six  years  old,  who  has  been  in  the 
u  1 1  arbor  "  over  a  quarter  of  a  century.  We  hoped  to  get  some 
reminiscences  Ol  the  Institution  from  him,  but  his  mind  was 
too  much  absorbed  in  better  things.  He  remembers  George 
Whitelield  and  other  eminent  men  of  the  good  lang  syne. 
lie  can  onlv  talk  of  Jesus  and  Ileaven.    He  expects  to  make 


BAILOR'S  SNUG  HAKjBGX, 


581 


but  oiie  more  short  voyage,  and  reach  in  due  time  tho  haven 
where  there  are  no  shipwrecks  or  misfortunes,  and  where 
people  are  all  of  a  color.  We  were  next  taken  to  Captain 
Webster,  in  another  ward,  who  thinks  himself  one  hundred 
and  eight  years  old,  but  whom  the  steward  informed  us  was 
ninety-six.  He  is  buoyant  and  cheerful,  full  of  conversation 
and  humor,  and  speaks  of  a  "  good  hope  "  also  for  the  life  to 
come. 

The  "Harbor"  contains  at  this  writing  four  hundred  in- 
mates besides  the  officers  and  help.  Liberty  is  granted  the 
inmates  to  visit  friends,  and  go  to  the  city  or  elsewhere  as 
they  may  reasonably  dbsire.  The  main  building  contains  a 
reading-room  furnished  with  hies  of  papers  and  periodicals ; 
also  a  library  of  about  a  thousand  volumes,  containing  many 
excellent  and  solid  works  which  exhibit  the  wear  of  much 
reading.  An  indispensable  prerequisite  to  admission  is  that 
the  applicant  has  sailed  five  years  under  the  American  flag. 
This,  coupled  with  disease  and  poverty,  formerly  proved  suffi- 
cient, but  the  late  war  has  so  multiplied  the  number  of  crip- 
pled seaman,  that  the  trustees  have  been  compelled  to  be 
more  cautious  in  their  admissions.  Most  of  the  inmates  live 
to  advanced  years.  Their  home  is  well  conducted,  and  the 
finest  of  the  kind  in  the  world.  The  buildings  are  all  that 
could  be  desired,  and  the  grounds,  which  are  richly  cultivated 
and  thickly  set  with  fruit  and  shade-trees,  are  as  charming 
as  nature  and  art  could  well  make  them.  About  twenty- 
three  acres,  containing  the  buildings  and  gardens,  are  enclosed 
by  a  massive  but  handsome  iron  fence,  which  cost  over 
eighty  thousand  dollars.  The  iron  was  cast  in  England,  and 
the  fence  rests  upon  a  deep  and  solid  foundation,  with 
capped  posts  of  the  best  granite.  Much  of  the  farm  is  still 
covered  with  heavy  timber.  In  the  front  yard,  at  a  conve- 
nient distance  from  the  front  entrance,  stands  a  white  marble 
monument,  erected  by  the  trustees  August  21,  1834,  to  the 
memory  of  the  founder  of  the  Institution,  wThose  remains 
were  then  removed  from  their  first  resting-place. 

The  affairs  of  the  society  are  managed  by  the  ex-officio  trus- 
tees named  in  the  will,  who  annually  elect  their  own  officers. 
The  salaried  officers  are  the  governor  and  his  assistant,  the 
treasurer,  agent,  resident  chaplain,  and  physician.  These  em- 
ploy such  other  help  as  is  needed,  with  consent  of  the  trustees. 
The  officers  are  kindly  disposed,  too  indulgent  to  the  inmates 
if  anything,  and  affable  to  visitors.    The  Institution  is  open 


582 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


to  visitors  every  day  of  the  week  except  the  Sabbath,  and 
every  unoccupied  sailor  on  the  premises  is  ready  with  char- 
acteristic politeness  to  escort  them  through  the  buildings  and 
grounds.  The  basement  of  the  main  edihce  is  mostly  devoted 
to  workshops.  Here  all  who  are  able  carry  on  the  basket  or 
mat  making  with  their  own  capital,  the  fruit  of  which  fur- 
nishes means  for  travel  and  for  other  private  uses.  Nearly 
all  earn  something. 

The  chaplain  was  absent  when  we  visited  the  Harbor,  but 
his  praise  was  in  the  mouths  of  many  of  the  inmates.  He 
holds  service  twice  each  Sabbath,  and  offers  public  prayers 
twice  each  day.  The  By-Laws,  which  are  an  excellent  code, 
make  it  the  duty  of  each  inmate  to  attend  all  the  religious 
services  unless  excused  by  the  governor,  for  sickness  or  other 
sufficient  cause,  yet  we  were  informed  that  less  than  half 
ordinarily  attended  the  Sabbath  services.  A  stricter  disci- 
pline would  be  a  decided  improvement.  Eighty  or  ninety  of 
the  inmates  profess  religion,  some  of  whom  attend  and  take 
part  in  the  Fulton-street  prayer-meeting  occasionally.  The 
former  chaplain  was  shot  on  the  grounds  by  one  of  the  old 
seamen,  who  afterwards  shot  himself.  The  man  is  now  be- 
lieved to  have  been  guilty  of  a  previous  murder,  and  to  have 
become  partially  insane  from  a  sense  of  guilt  and  an  appre- 
hension that  God  would  not  pardon  him. 


SEAMEN'S  FUND  AND  RETREAT. 

{Quarantine  Landing,  Staten  Island.) 

S  early  as  1754,  the  colonial  government  of  New  York 
established  quarantine  measures.  A  tax  was  imposed 
upon  all  seamen  and  passengers  entering  the  port  of 
*<^r*1  New  York,  and  with  the  fund  thus  provided,  hos- 
pital buildings  were  established,  first  on  Governor's  and  after- 
wards on  Bedloe's  Island.  The  establishment  was  removed 
to  Staten  Island  about  1799.  The  tax  thus  collected  from 
passengers  and  seamen  was  paid  into  a  joint  fund,  ander 
the  control  of  the  Commissioners  of  Health  of  the  city 
of  New  York,  and  called  the  "Mariner's  Fund."  The 


SEAMEN'S  FUND  AND  RETREAT. 


583 


tan ds  thus  created,  besides  providing  the  quarantine  accom- 
modations, were  disposed  of  by  the  Legislature  in  establishing 
city  dispensaries,  assisting  the  Society  for  the  Reformation  of 
Juvenile  Delinquents,  etc.,  etc.  The  manifest  injustice  of  tax- 
ing seamen  for  quarantine  purposes,  and  in  distributing  their 
iiard  earnings  among  other  charities  in  which  they  had  no 
special  interest,  was  discovered  by  commercial  men  of  New 
York  over  forty  years  ago,  and  an  effort  was  made  to  abolish 
this  long-standing  abuse.  The  Legislature  of  1831  created  a 
board  of  trustees  to  collect  these  funds  and  employ  them 
exclusively  for  the  benefit  of  seamen.  It  was  believed  at 
that  time  that  over  three  hundred  and  forty  thousand  dollars 
had  been  paid  by  passengers  and  seamen  into  the  fund,  above 
what  had  been  used  for  their  benefit,  and  the  money  still  on 
hand  at  that  time  they  were  authorized  to  receive  from  the 
State  treasury,  which  amounted  to  over  twelve  thousand  dol- 
lars. The  first  meeting  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Sea- 
men's Fund  and  Retreat  was  held  at  the  Mayor's  office,  May 
9,  1831,  and  measures  were  soon  taken  to  maintain  all  dis- 
eased seamen  in  the  Marine  Hospital,  Staten  Island,  and  in 
the  New  York  Hospital.  After  examining  several  farms  on 
Staten  Island,  the  trustees  purchased  forty  acres  of  land  of 
Cornelius  Corson,  fronting  on  the  New  York  ba}T,  for  $10,000. 
The  land  contained  a  farm  house,  to  which  it  was  proposed 
to  add  an  additional  building  for  the  reception  of  patients. 
The  new  hospital  in  process  of  erection  on  the  snmtnit  of 
the  elevation  was  overtaken  with  a  storm  so  violent  as  to 
throw  down  its  brick  walls  when  they  were  nearly  completed. 
On  the  12th  of  June,  1832,  the  executive  committee  reported 
the  completion  of  the  new  building,  and  about  the  middle 
of  the  following  month  it  was  occupied.  As  the  accommo- 
dations continued  inadequate,  a  plan  was  formed  for  the 
erection  of  the  main  buildings  now  in  use,  which  are  situated 
much  nearer  the  shore. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  present  hospital  was  laid  July  4, 
1834,  by  Samuel  Swartout,  Esq.,  collector  of  the  port,  and 
president  of  the  board  of  trustees,  assisted  by  the  architect, 
Mr.  A.  P.  Maybee.  The  address  was  delivered  by  the  Rev. 
John  E.  Miller,  Rev.  Henry  Chase,  pastor  of  the  Mariner's 
Church,  and  other  clergymen  assisting  in  the  services.  This 
hospital  consists  of  a  main  structure  fifty  feet  square  and 
three  stories  high,  with  two  wings  each  seventy-six  by  thirty- 
four  feet,  built  of  hammered  blue  stone,  trimmed  with  gran- 


584 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


ite,  and  covered  with  brazier's  copper.  The  central  building 
and  south  wing  were  completed  in  January,  1836,  and  the 
north  wing  in  1852.  The  location  of  the  Institution  is  one 
of  surpassing  beauty  and  commanding  prominence,  and  lias 
been  admired  Iry  the  hundreds  of  thousands  who  sail  annually 
through  the  broad  bay.  The  principal  building  stands 
nearly  in  the  center  of  an  arc,  the  lower  point  of  which  ex- 
tends to  the  Narrows,  and  the  upper  to  the  entrance  of  Kill 
Von  Kull.  From  its  windows  the  eye  sweeps  over  the  entire 
bay  of  xSew  York,  and  searches  for  vanishing  objects  far  out 
on  the  boiling  Atlantic.  Vessels  from  every  quarter  of  the 
globe  and  of  every  variety  and  size,  bearing  the  ensign  of 
their  own  nationality,  are  constantly  passing  laden  with  the 
products  of  many  lands.  At  one  view  is  seen  the  majestic 
ocean  steamer,  leaving  its  track  of  foam,  and  sending  billows 
to  the  shore  on  which  the  smaller  vessels  rock  and  gracefully 
nod  obeisance  to  their  passing  superior  ;  and  at  another,  coast 
steamers,  sloops,  brigs,  schooners,  and  the  playful  yacht  may 
be  seen  to  skim,  rock,  and  toy  in  the  breeze  and  sunlight. 
A  wider  and  richer  view  of  the  commerce  of  the  world  can 
rarely  be  obtained  on  any  continent.  In  nothing  did  the 
founders  of  this  Institution  evince  more  taste  and  judgment 
than  in  the  selection  of  its  location.  The  invalid  sailor  who 
cannot  leave  his  room  can  still  breathe  the  bracing  air  of 
the  sea,  and  look  out  upon  this  immense  picture  of  nature 
and  art,  which  contains  more  of  beauty  and  attraction  for 
him  than  all  the  rest  of  the  world.  He  almost  forgets  his 
malady  and  confinement,  while  the  sight  of  his  chosen  ele- 
ment, decorated  with  the  bright  flags,  whitened  with  the  sails 
of  a  world-wide  commerce,  is  spread  out  before  him. 

In  ISil,  the  brick  building  on  the  hill,  first  erected,  was 
fitted  up  for  the  treatment  of  insane  patients,  and  a  suit- 
able enclosure  thrown  around  it.  An  oven  for  baking  and  a 
large  wash-house  were  also  added  the  same  year.  In  Septem- 
ber, 1842,  the  granite  edifice  situated  on  the  north-east  corner 
of  the  grounds,  since  occupied  by  the  resident  physician,  was 
erected. 

A.U  association  of  ladies,  styled  "The  Mariner's  Family 
Industrial  Society,"  was  incorporated  April  6,  1849,  having 
lor  its  object  the  relief  of  the  destitute  families  of  seamen. 
By  an  act  of  Legislature,  passed  March  17,  1851,  a  board 
of  trustees  were  created  for  its  management,  consisting  of 
New  York  City  officials  and  the  Board  of  Councillors  of  the 


seamen's  fund  and  retreat. 


585 


Mariner's  Family  Industrial  Society.  In  June,  1852,  the 
corner-stone  of  the  Asylum,  ordered  by  the  Legislature  the 
previous  year,  and  which  had  been  contemplated  in  the  legis- 
lation of  1847,  was  laid.  The  plan  was  to  provide  a  suitable 
building  for  the  use  of  such  " destitute,  sick,  and  infirm 
mothers,  wives,  sisters,  daughters,  or  widows  of  seamen,  as 
gave  satisfactory  proof  that  they  had  paid  the  hospital  tax 
for  the  term  of  two  years." 

Its  location  is  on  the  south  side  of  the  farm,  at  the  highest 
point  of  the  rise  from  the  bay,  and  about  fifteen  hundred 
feet  from  it.  The  building  is  a  square  brick  structure  five 
stories  high,  with  accommodations  for  sixty  inmates.  The 
live  acres  of  ground  connected  with  it  are  finely  cultivated, 
producing  an  ample  supply  of  vegetables  and  fruit.  The 
view  from  the  upper  windows  is  rich  and  varied.  The  eye 
sweeps  over  three  cities,  the  Bay  from  Coney  Island  to  the 
Palisades,  over  much  of  Staten  Island,  Long  Island,  and  New 
Jersey.  The  Legislature,  by  act  of  April  12,  1854,  directed 
that  ten  per  cent,  of  certain  receipts  of  the  Trustees  of  the 
Seaman's  Fund  and  Retreat  should  be  paid  to  the  trustees 
of  this  Asylum,  which  arrangement  still  continues. 

The  Seaman's  Retreat  has  been  favored  with  wise  and 
pious  officers.  In  1851,  a  Temperance  Society  was  organized 
by  the  Superintendent,  and  during  the  six  years  following, 
3,200  seamen  signed  the  total  abstinence  pledge.  Prayer- 
meetings  have  been  held  weekly  most  of  the  time  for  many 
years.  The  published  report  of  the  Institution  for  1869 
declared  that  more  than  one  hundred  seamen  had  given  evi- 
dence of  conversion  during  the  last  three  years.  Besides  the 
services  of  a  regular  chaplain,  the  Institution  is  occasionally 
visited  by  Pastor  Holland  and  Pastor  Iledstrom,  who  min- 
ister to  the  Scandinavian  sailors  in  their  own  language. 
These  services  are  often  seasons  of  thrilling  interest ;  the  ser- 
mon being  supplemented  by  the  prayers  and  exhortations  of 
the  sailors,  and  not  unfrequently  attended  with  the  tears  and 
sobs  of  the  impenitent.  Many  who  have  entered  the  Hetreat 
in  quest  of  physical  remedies  only  have  found  to  their  great 
joy  the  balm  of  the  soul,  and  returned  to  their  occupation 
with  aspirations  and  hopes  hitherto  unknowir  As  our  for- 
eign mission  work  in  the  past  has  been  greatly  retarded  by 
the  dissipation  and  impiety  of  sailors  representing  Christian 
countries,  may  we  not  hope  for  the  day  when  their  conse- 
crated energies  shall  make  them  rank  among  its  most  potent 


608 


NEW  YORK  AND  ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 


auxiliaries  ?  The  conversion  of  a  humble  sailor  often  sets 
in  motion  a  series  of  moral  influences  which  sweep  around 
the  world,  and  may  never,  never  cease  their  vibrations.  How 
powerful  the  motive  to  labor  for  this  class  of  persons !  Some 
of  its  surgeons  have  been  men  of  remarkable  piety.  Thomas 
C.  Moffatt,  M.D.,  who  expired  December,  1869,  and  who  was 
the  fourth  physician  to  fall  a  victim  of  ship-fever  contracted 
in  discharge  of  duty,  was  a  most  amiable  and  saintly  man. 
During  the  fifteen  years  that  he  had  the  medical  charge  of 
the  Hospital,  his  religious  influence  was  as  marked  as  his  pro- 
fessional. Skillful  as  he  was  in  prescribing  for  an  enfeebled 
body,  he  was  no  less  wise  in  administering  to  a  disordered 
soul.  His  labors  in  the  chapel,  at  the  prayer-meeting,  and 
temperance  meeting  ;  his  tender,  thoughtful,  and  affectionate 
treatment  of  all  his  patients,  had  so  won  the  confidence  and 
love  of  all,  that  when  the  long  procession  came  to  take  the 
last  look  at  his  remains,  many  brave  hearts  broke  down  with 
emotion,  and  turned  away  to  weep.  Few  in  his  position 
have,  in  so  eminent  a  manner,  exemplified  the  excellence  of 
the  Christian  religion. 

The  Institution  is  provided  with  the  current  periodicals  of 
the  day,  and  has  a  circulating  library  of  about  a  thousand 
volumes.  The  inmates  are  for  the  most  part  expected  to 
recover.  Incurables  are  transferred  to  Sailor's  Snug  Harbor, 
or  to  other  Institutions  if  possible ;  if  not  they  are  provided 
for  here.  Fifty-six  thousand  disabled  seamen  have  been 
admitted  into  the  Institution  since  its  establishment  in  1831, 
most  of  whom  have  been  cured  and  returned  to  the  sea. 

The  grounds  also  contain  a  handsome  cemetery,  situated 
on  an  eminence  at  the  western  end  of  the  grounds.  Here 
the  hardy  tars  find  a  resting  place  by  the  side  of  their  com- 
rades when  the  storms  of  life  are  past. 


READ  TESTIMONIALS  from  EMINENT  MEDICAL  MEN  and  JOURNALS. 


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QUAOKEKY,  HUMBUGGERY,  AND  PATENT  MEDICINES  EXPOSED. 

THE  NEW  HANDY-BOOK  OK  FAMILY  MEDICIWK. 
Get  it,  and  save  Money,  Health,  and  Life. 


A  NEW  AND  POPULAR  GUIDE 

TO  THE  ART  OF  PRESERVING  HEALTH  AND  TREATING  DISEASE;, 
With  Plain  Advice  for  all  Medical  and  Surgical  Emergencies  of  the  Family, 

The  whole  is  based  on  the  most  Recent  and  the  Highest  Authorities,  and  brought 
down  to  the  Latest  Dates. 

By  GEO.  M.  BEARD,  A.M.,  M.D. 

[Graduate  of  Yale  College  and  of  the  New  Yobk  College  of  Physicians  and  Subg*on»]  j 
Lecturer  on  Nervous  Diseases  in  the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York  ;  Follow  of  the  Net? 
York  Academy  of  Medicine  :  Member  of  the  New  York  Couuty  Medical 
Society. 

ASSISTED  IN  THE  VARIOUS  DEPARTMENTS  BY  THE  FOLLOWING  EMINENT  MEDICAL  AUTHORITIES 
IN  THE  CITT  OP  NEW  YORK  :  — 

BENJAMIN  HOWARD,  A.M.,  M.D.,  Prof,  of  Surgery. 

D.  B.  ST.  JOHN  BOOSA,  A.M.,  M.D.,  Prof,  of  Diseases  of  Eye  and  Ear. 

J.  B.  HUNTER,  M.D.,  on  Diseases  of  Women  and  Children. 
A.  D.  ROCKWELL,  M.D.,  and  others. 


The  Publishers  present  "Our  Home  Physician"  with  the  assurance  that  it  is  the  most 
important  and  valuable  Medical  Guide  ever  offered  to  the  American  public.    To  this  admirable 
_work  our  author  has  given  careful  study,  investigation  and  experience,  and  now  presents  it  to  the 
public  as  the  result  of  a  large  and  extended  practice  in  New  York  City.   From  the  author's  preface 
we  learn:— 

"This  book  has  been  prepared  to  meet  a  want  that  has  been  long  and  widely  felt— of  a  single 
work  which  should  give  a  comprehensive  and  accurate  knowledge  of  Medical  science  of  the  present 
day,  in  as  much  detail  as  can  be  useful  to  those  not  medically  educated.  I  have  left  no  stone  un- 
turned to  make  the  work  fully  represent  the  best  and  most  recent  opinions  and  experiences  of  the 
leading  authorities  of  our  day  in  the  various  departments,  all  of  which  are  brought  down  to  the 
most  recent  dates.  Diseases,  their  symptoms  and  treatment,  and  in  fact  nearly  every  department 
of  Medical  science,  has  changed  wonderfully  during  the  past  twenty  years,  and  Medical  works  and 

uthors  that  were  once  considered  authorities  are  now  worse  than  useless,  tending  only  to  mis- 

ead  with  dangerous  results. 

"This  work  not  only  includes  all  that  has  ever  been  attempted  in  similar  works,  but  also 
several  hundred  new  remedies,  new  systems  of  treatment,  new  diseases  and  new  subjects  in  the 
department  of  health  that  have  never  yet  appeared  in  any  work  designed  for  the  people.  There 
are  yet  among  the  people  those  who  have  a  blind  faith  in  some  school  or  exclusive  system  of 
treatment ;  to  all  such  let  me  say  that  the  wise  physician  of  our  time  belongs  to  no  "  school,"  no 
"ism,"  no  "pathy,"  but  uses  for  his  patients  alfthings  which  have  proved  to  be  beneficial.  On 
this  principle  this  work  is  based.  The  best  physicians  of  our  day  are  not  narrow  or  bigoted,  as 
some  suppose,  but  are  the  most  liberal  and  progressive  of  men.  I  ha\e  written  in  the  work  just 
what  I  say  every  day  to  my  patients,  in  my  popular  essays,  and  in  my  lectures  before  lyceums  and 
colleges.  I  have  here  said  just  what  your  family  physician  would  tell  you  if  he  had  the  time  and 
occasion  to  explain  the  different  diseases,  their  symptoms  and  treatments.  My  aim  has  also  been 
to  make  the  work  so  clear  that  the  wayfaring  man  might  not  err  therein,  and  yet  so  thorough  and 
exhaustive  that  the  educated  physician  should  find  in  it  much  to  perfect  his  knowledge  and  refresh 
his  memory." 

WITH   NUMEROUS  ILLUSTRATIONS 


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Testimonials  for  Headley's  Sacred  Heroes  &  Martyrs. 


Brook- 
Head  ley's 

resent  volume,  which  is  a  com- 


Bev  HENRY  "WARD  BEECHER,  Pastor  Plymouth  Church, 
iyn,  Editor  of  Christian  Union,  says  :  The  favorable  reception  of  Mr. 
"Sacred  Mountains"  doubtless  suggested  the  preparation  of  the  present  volume,  whicl 
mentary,  in  an  expanded  form,  upon  the  lives  of  prophets,  priests,  kings  and  apostles.  The  author 
has  endeavored,  with  the  aid  of  modern  research  and  scholarship,  to  develop  the  fragmentary  records 
contained  in  the  Scriptures,  into  something  like  a  connected  narrative.  After  reading  these  bio- 
graphical commentaries,  for  such  they  are,  it  is  with  a  fresh  interest  that  the  Bible  itself  is  opened, 
an  d  oftentimes  familiar,  but  hitherto  uninteresting  texts,  are  found  to  possess  an  unexpected  sig- 
nificance; while  local  inci- 

dents,  which  before  were  r  ^\ 

meaningless,  have  acquired    v'/^^  rL/CsisTS 
a  fresh  ana  individual  char-   r  w  C^C — *  ^—y    '  r 
acter. 

Rev.  Rishop  E.  S.  JANES,  of  New 
York,  says  :  In  my  judgment  this  is  a  very  valu 
able  work.  Mr.  Headley  wields  a  very  graphic  pen 
The  young  will  find  the  book  exceedingly  interest 
\ng  and  very  instructive.    I  commend  it  cordially 


nnuerio  uumieresuug  luaws,  ore  iouiiu  10  possess  an  unexpected  sig- 


Rev.  PHILLIP  SCHAFF,  Church  Historian,  Editor  Lange's 

Commentary,  and  Professor  in  Union  Theological  Seminary,  says:   The  Sa- 
cred Heroes  and  Martyrs  of  the  Bible  are  a  noble  theme  for  the  well- 
known  descriptive  powers  of  the  author,  and  well  calculated  to  inspire 
the  reader  with  enthusiasm  for  the  highest  and  most  enduring  order  of 

f reatness.   The  book  is  a  valuable  contribution  to  our  popular  religious 
iterature. 

Rev.  JOSEPH  CUMMINGS,  !>.».,  President  Wesleyan  University, 

says:  Whoever  leads  men  with  a  proper  spirit  to  the  study  of  the  scenes,  incidents,  and  characters 
of  the  Bible,  renaers  a  great  service  to  the  cause  of  religion.  We  consider  this  to  be  the  great  merit 
of  Mr.  Headley's  new  work,  and  we  recommend  it  as  worthy  of  general  attention  and  favor. 


Pastor  2d  Presb.  Church,  Chicago, 

T.  Headley,  is  written  in  the  author's  besc  style, 


Rev.  R.  W.  PATTERSON,  D.D., 

says  :  ,  The  "  Sacred  Heroes  and  Martyrs,"  by  J. 

and  is  highiy  interesting  and  instructive.   I  trust  it  may  obtain  a  wide  circulation.   It  will  serve  to 
strengthen  the  faith  and  courage  of  many  readers.   The  Heroes  and  Martyrs  set  before  us  in  the 
Scripture  record,  are  the  great  heroes  and  martyrs  of 
the  Church ;  and  their  characters  and  acts,  and  even 

their  imperfections,  if  studied  in  the  light  of  Mr.  Head-  *         S)  M 

ley's  graphic  sketches,  can  hardly  tail  to  help  others      AJ    (lA/y    A'  /  /   

in  following  them  who,  through  faith  and  patience,  in-     rF\  .  WJ ^  I  /XAA^LA^jn^j 
herit  the  promises.  ^  "  ww-^      -~  r    ^  j 

Rev.  E.  J.  GOODSPEED,  R.D.,  Pastor  2d  Baptist  Church,  Chicago, 
says  :  our  o  il  favorite  who  wrote  so  graphically  of  the  Sacred  Mountains,  J.  T.  Headlev,  has  given 
us  anot  her  volume  of  a  similar  character,  upon  Sacred  Heroes  and  Martyrs.  He  has  availed  himself 
of  all  the  modern  advances  in  scholarship  and  knowledge  of  the  Word  of  God,  to  clothe  with  vivid- 
ness and  reality  the  characters  of  Scripture  forever  sacred  in  the  veneration  of  mankind.  His 
gorgeousnesa  ot  imagery  revels,  and  is  at  home,  among  the  mighty  men  and  sublime  landscapes  of 
the  ancient  past.  A  soberer  pen  would  fail  to  reproduce  the  men  and  their  surroundings  in  just  pro- 
portions and  coloring.  We  welcome,  therefore,  and  heartilv  commend  this  noble  volume,  with  its 
Iresn  illustrations,  clear  type  and  handsome  binding,  hoping  that  our  dear  old  Bible,  ever  new 
because  so  human  and  yet  y» 

Divine,  and  hence  adapted            ^         yS\  j 
to  our  profoundest  necessi-  /;/  ^  /    s  /7 

ties,  may  become  yet  more          3"         CjV       €/Zhr~-*'s*^Zt  W yf  j    x  *  SIS 
thoroughly  understood  and  '  /7r       vyl^  L^AJ^A^A^^^^-^ 

universally  read.  T  CS  S   r  // 

Rev.  DANIEL  STEELE,  D.D.,  President  of  Genesee  College,  N.  \\, 

says:  J  t  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  thaek  you  lor  the  service  which  you  have  done  to  Christian  lit- 
erature by  the  publication  of  Headley's  Sacred  Heroes  and  Martyrs."  I  deem  this  work  the  crown- 
ing eflort  of  its  distinguished  author,  and  one  on  which  his  reputation  in  the  future  will  chiefly  rest. 
?  or  the  most  enduring  literary  fame  is  that  which  is  connected  with  the  Word  of  God  which  abideth 
forever.  I  hail  it  as  one  of  the  most  favorable  signs  of  the  times  that  our  greatest  writers  are  turn- 
Ig  their  attention  to  the  Bible  and  are  investing  its  grand  themes  with  the  halo  of  their  genius. 

Mr.  Headley  wields  a  magical  pen.    His  "Napoleon  and  his  Marshals,"  read  in  my  college 


dayp,  gave  me  Impressions  so  vivid,  that 
they  hav\;  never  been  erased  from  my 
memory.  The  descriptive  power  of  this 
writer,  the  charm  of  his  etyle,  and  the 
life-like  pictures  portrayed  by  his  pen, 
render  hun  an  especial  favorite  with  the 
voung. 


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guished Historian  of  "  Washington  and  His  Generals,"  "isapoleon  and  His  Marshals,"  "  Sacred  Moun- 
tains," etc.  The  details  regarding  the  early  life  of  the  General  are  at  once  full  and  accurate,  having  been 
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Portraits,  Bartle  Scenes  and  Maps.  The  four  years  of  civil  war  in  which  the  United  States  were  so 
recently  involved  has  created  a  History,  the  records  of  which  are  full  of  Heroes  and  Heroic  Deeds,  and 
Mr.  Headley,  of  all  writers,  is  perhaps  best  qualified  to  pori.ay  the  stupendous  features  of  the  mighty 
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equally  welrome  the  work  as  a  Pouvenir  of  the  struggle  bo  full  of  tender  memories  for  them. 
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tome in  itself.  Wo  can  recommend  this  work  as  the  best  that  has  appeared  on  the  Southern  side  since 
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tives of  the  Daring  Deeds  and  Patient  Sufferings  of  the  "  Boys  in  Gray."  The  design  of  this  work  is  to 
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facts  from  books.  The  Aew  Orleans  Times  says:  "The  work  abounds  in  graphic  descriptions,  hair- 
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Sacred  Heroes  and  Martyrs. — Hon.  J.  T.  Headley's  Ne* 

Illustrated  Biblical  Work,  written  in  the  author's  happiest  style,  and  surpassing  his  fnrmei 
works  that  have  sold  by  the  100.000.  with  Steel  Engravings  from  designs  by  our  artist,  who  has 
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favorite  who  wrote  so  graphically  of  the  Sacred  Mountains  hat  given  us  another  volume  of  a 
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this  noble  volume,  with  its  fresh  illustrations,  clear  t>/r>",  and  handsome  binding,  hoping  that  our 
dear  o'd  Bible,  ever  new,  because  so  human  and  yet  hioine,  and  hmce  adapted  to  our  profoundest 
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every  one— information  which  is  usually  scattered  through  many  books."— New  Orleans  Picayune. 
20,000  Sold.   500  octavo  pages.   211  Illustrations.    Price,  $3.00. 

The  National  Political  Manual— A  Non-Partisan  Hand- 

Book  of  Facts  and  Figures,  Historical,  Documentary,  Statistical  and  Political,  from  the  founda- 
tion of  the  Government  to  the  present  time;  being,  na  its  title  implies,  a  Handy  Book  of 
information  pertaining  to  our  National  History,  carefully  compiled  and  arranged  bv  E.  B. 
Tiieat,  with  a  History  of  the  Old  Flag,  by  Hon.  J.  T.  Hkadi.ey.  'Many  of  the  chapters  alone 
are  worth  the  price  of  the  entire  volume." — The  N.  Y.  Christian  Advocate. 
15,000  sold.   400pages.   Illustrated.   Price,  $1.50. 

The  Handy-Book  of  Husbandry.— A  Guide  for  Farm. 

ers.  Young  and  Old.  By  Geo.  B.  Waring,  Jr.,  of  Ogden  Farm,  formerly  Agricultural  Engineer  of 
Central  Park.N.  Y.,  author  of  "Draining  for  Profit  and  for  Health,"  &c."  This  is  preeminently 
thekingot'AgriculturalBooks.  It  condenses  within  a  small  space  so  much  of  the  Science  of 
Agriculture  as  Ls  important  fat  every  Fanner  to  understand,  and  only  so  much,  and  is  full  and 
complete  in  every  department  pertaining  to  Farm  Operations,  Farm  Buildings  ai  d  Implements, 
Drainage,  Manures,  Grain  and  Root  Crops,  the  Hairy,  Livestock,  their  Care  and  Management, 
etc. .  cfr..  with  other  useful  i  nformation  and  labor-saving  calculations  and  data  connected  with 
agriculture.  "It  is  precisely  such  a  book  as  every  Farmer  should  have  and  should  read."— 
N.  Y.  Week/'/  Tribune.  "Worth  more  to  a  Farmer  than  a  yoke  of  oxen." — Albany  Evening 
Jo'im'il.  The  bes  t  o  fmodern  book  s  on  farmi  n?."— Henry  Ward  Beecher's  Paper.  "Weta  e 
pleasure  in  commfndingit."—  American  Agriculturalist.  "  It  condenses  the  science  of  agricul- 
ture within  a  small  space."—  Ohio  Farmer. 
604  octavo  pages  and  V3  Practical  illustrations.   Price,  $3.50.   Half  Calf  Antique.  $5.50. 


